Stranded in Another World
by The Water Goddess
Summary: Paine's life drastically changes when a deadly storm hits Besaid and the airship that she is in. Stranded in a strange, unknown world, Paine must learn whom to trust and why a dangerous new enemy is after her. Ch2 introduces mystery FF game.
1. Love is in the Air

Disclaimer:_ I only own the plot to this fanfic. That's all._

Stranded in Another World

Written by: Crystal Wolfven

Chapter I

Love is in the Air

The red-eyed warrior in black stood on the deck of Celsius; the wind blew through her silver-tinted hair. She had her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling of the wind against her face.

The sound of the elevator coming up and then someone walking out could be heard behind her.

"We're almost there, Paine." It was Yuna.

Paine nodded her head, eyes still closed.

Yuna took a few steps closer to the warrior. "Rikku and I were going to dress up for the party. Perhaps you could, too?"

Paine's eyes opened. "Dress up? I don't think so, Yuna."

"But it's for a good reason."

"No, Yuna. I'm not dressing up."

"But if I had to leave Tidus behind just to go to this party, then you should dress up." Yuna put her hands behind her back.

"It's not my fault Tidus wasn't invited." Paine turned and looked at Yuna. "I'm not getting dressed up."

"It's only just this one time, Paine. I'm sure the guys are dressing up, too."

"Fine, but just this one time. You better be right about those three dressing up, or you lose respect points." Paine walked toward the elevator and got inside.

"I'm positive they will." Yuna smiled as she also got inside the elevator.

XxXxX

The three girls got off of Celsius once it landed near Youth League HQ. Yuna was dressed in a long sleeved white dress that fell just below her knees and white high-heel shoes; Rikku was dressed in a pink mini skirt, white tank-top, and her normal shoes. Both girls had smiles on their faces as they walked toward the HQ.

Paine, on the other hand, did not look too happy. She wore a long, black, off-the-shoulder dress. The sleeves were long and wide at the end. There was a split up the sides of the dress that stopped at her hips. She had on her normal black boots.

Nooj greeted them at the entrance. "Glad you could make it." Baralai and Gippal stood beside them.

Paine noticed none of the guys were dressed up and she glared at Yuna. "Two respect points."

"You look…beautiful, Paine." Baralai could not seem to take his eyes off of Paine. Nooj noticed the way Baralai looked at Paine and shook his head.

"Uh…thanks…" Paine rubbed the back of her neck. _I wish he would stop staring at me. It's making me regret wearing this dress._

Gippal walked up to Paine and looked her up and down. "This is Paine? Are you sure? She looks…different…"

"Do you want hurt, desert rat?" Paine narrowed her eyes.

"Well I'll be. It _is_ Paine! I didn't think you could dress up, Dr. P." Gippal got right up in her face.

Paine pushed past him and walked towards the door ahead of her. "I knew I should've brought my sword," She muttered as she walked inside.

The others soon joined her in the dining room of the HQ. She was already seated at the table. The table had six chairs: two on each side, and then a chair at both ends. Gippal sat in the empty chair to the left of Paine. Yuna and Rikku sat across from the two, and Nooj sat at the end of the table in the chair between Rikku and Paine, and Baralai was at the other end, between Yuna and Gippal. Food had already been placed on the table, obviously before the three girls arrived. Barya, Donga, and Pukutak were in one corner of the room playing some music.

After everyone was done eating, Rikku and Yuna were dancing, while the other four sat at the table. The guys were talking, and Paine was drinking her wine every now and then. Rikku ran over to Paine. "Why don't ya lighten up and have a little fun?" She twirled around. "You'll like dancing if ya tried!"

"I. Don't. Dance." Paine took another sip of her wine.

Rikku began to pout as she walked back over to Yuna. She quickly went back to dancing and giggling a half a second later.

Gippal grabbed Paine's hand and dragged her over to where Yuna and Rikku were dancing. "C'mon, Dr. P. Dance with me. You can hurt me later if ya want." He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. They began to dance to the music.

"They may such a cute couple. Don't you agree, Baralai?" Nooj took a sip of his wine.

"Yeah…" Baralai stood. "Excuse me." He left the room.

Nooj watched him leave. Rikku and Yuna stopped dancing to watch Paine and Gippal. "Aw. How cute!" Rikku jumped up and down a bit. "We should record this!" The glare from Paine made her rethink that. Barya, Donga, and Pukutak slowed down the music, and Paine and Gippal slowed down the dancing.

_What am I doing? I don't know how to dance, nor do I _**like**_ dancing!_ Paine closed her eyes and rested her head on Gippal's chest. _I have absolutely _**no idea** _why I'm doing this. _She wanted to push him away and go back and sit down, but she actually_ liked_ dancing with him. She forgot about the others being in the room; at least until Rikku spoke up.

"Paine and Gippal sittin' in the tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Rikku giggled.

Paine stopped dancing and looked at Rikku. "You have it all wrong. It goes: Gippal and Rikku sitting in the tree." She smirked as she went back to her seat and sat down.

"Ed tuach'd ku mega dryd!" Rikku stopped giggling. Gippal scratched the back of his head.

Paine noticed Baralai was gone. "Where did Baralai go?"

"I'll go find him." Nooj stood up and limped out of the room.

Nooj found Baralai outside, looking up at the clouds. "If you love her, then you better make your move before Gippal does."

"Yes. I know." Baralai continued looked at the clouds.

"I would be careful, though. You could lose the friendship that you have with Gippal if you two fight over one woman." Nooj turned back around to go back inside. Baralai sighed and followed him inside.

Paine was leaned back in her chair when Nooj walked back in. Baralai was behind him. Yuna walked over to them. "We should get going. Brother is probably worried about us."

"He's probably worried about _you_, not us." Rikku ran to the exit. "Last one there is a rotten egg!" She ran out.

Everyone had followed Rikku out, and as the three girls were getting aboard the Celsius, Gippal ran over to Paine.

"Dr. P, the guys and I were thinkin' about goin' to a bar and just hang out like we did back then. Wanna join us?"

Paine crossed her arms.

"Go ahead, Paine. Have some fun. We'll pick you up later." Yuna told her.

"I'll go, then. Should I change?"

"Nah. You look fine to me." Gippal said. Paine joined the three down on the ground, and watched Celsius take off.

XxXxX

It was a few hours later, and the four friends were still at the bar, laughing and having fun.

"We should really do this more often." Gippal said, trying to stop laughing.

"What? Get drunk and laugh at all the stupid things we did when we were younger?" Nooj asked. The group burst out laughing again.

"You make it sound like that's a bad thing." Paine swirled the ice around in her empty glass.

"Perhaps it is." Nooj drank some of his drink.

"That's the alcohol talkin'." Gippal pointed out.

Nooj shrugged. "It may be. I've had a _lot_ to drink. As have the rest of us."

"Yeah. I'm gonna have a serious hangover when I wake up in the morning." Baralai stared at his empty glass. "I'm going to get a refill." He stood up, picked up his glass, and looked at Paine. "Would you like another?"

"Yeah. Sure." She handed her glass to him and watched him walk over to the bartender. _He has a nice ass._ Paine mentally slapped herself. _Alcohol makes you think stupid things, that's for sure._ She looked away from Baralai and over to the window. She noticed it was already very dark outside. _How long have we been here?_ She shook her head. _At least we're having fun._

Baralai handed Paine her glass and sat back down. "I've got a wonderful idea."

"Uh-oh." Gippal put his hands behind his head. "Fryd huf?"

Baralai rolled his eyes. "It's nothing bad, Gippal." He took a sip of his drink. "Maybe we should meet up here once a week? Sound good to you?" He looked at all three of them.

"Sounds good to me." Nooj was the first to answer.

"I like that idea." Paine put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands.

"Ditto!" Gippal balanced his chair on two legs.

"Then it's settled. We'll meet up here again a week from today, at the same time." Baralai stood. "I must get back, now. I have a lot of paperwork to have finished by tomorrow."

Gippal stood and stretched. "We should all get back to our homes. It's late."

The group walked out of the bar. Nooj was the first to say good-night as he headed in the direction of Youth League HQ. It wasn't that far away.

"Sleep well, my friends." Baralai smiled at Paine before turning and walking in the direction of Bevelle. It was a long walk off, but he needed to walk the alcohol off, anyway. He didn't think anyone at Bevelle would like the idea of their Praetor coming back drunk.

Paine watched him leave until he disappeared into the darkness. Gippal scratched the back of his head. "So, the girls are gonna pick ya up, right?"

"Yes." She turned to face him. "You gonna wait here until they do?"

"Yeah. Someone may take advantage of you being drunk."

Paine laughed. "I'm not _that_ drunk." She swayed back and forth a bit. _Okay. Maybe I do feel a bit dizzy_.

Gippal watched Paine as she leaned up against the stone wall of the building. "You feelin' okay?" He walked over to her and stood just a few inches in front of her.

"I'm only drunk. I'll get over it." She closed her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. _This headache I probably_ won't _get over._ She opened her eyes and smirked. "It's not like I'm the only one drunk."

"Hey, I didn't drink as much as you did." He looked up at the sky. "Do you think they'll be here soon?"

She shrugged and pushed herself off of the wall. She stumbled forward and Gippal caught her.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

She chuckled. "I'm fine. Never been better. I'm just a little drunk, that's all." She looked up at him and the two stared at each other. Gippal leaned down and kissed her softly on her lips. The two leaned back up against the wall. His hand slowly went up the side of her thigh and up to her waist.

The sound of Celsius coming closer could be heard by the two. Gippal stopped what he was doing and just stared into the eyes of the woman. "I-uh…"

"I should be going." Paine softly said, pretty shocked at what just happened. Celsius prepared itself to land. Gippal stepped away from Paine.

"Would you like me to-"

"No. I think I can handle getting on Celsius. Thanks anyway." She straightened out her dress and waited patiently for Celsius to finish landing. Once she was inside, she took one last look back at Gippal, and then continued to make her way towards the elevator. She was up in the cabin in no time.

"Did you have a good time?" Yuna asked as Paine walked by her and towards the stairs.

"Yeah." That was all that she felt like saying.

"I saw Gippal back there. The other two must've already headed home. It was nice of him to wait there with you."

"Yeah." She started to walk up the stairs. "Good night."

"…Good night…" Yuna cocked her head to the side. '_I'll just leave her be. She needs a good night sleep anyway._' Yuna quietly left the cabin and headed back up to the bridge.


	2. Every Problem has to Start Somewhere

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Disclaimer:_ The only thing that I own is the plot to this fanfic. That is all. I do not own any of the characters. If I did, I'd be a very happy girl, but I don't own them._

Chapter II

Every Problem has to Start Somewhere

Lightning lit up the dark sky around Besaid. Yuna and Rikku were sitting inside Wakka's and Lulu's home. Buddy, Shinra, and Brother were also with them.

"It's loud out there." Rikku sat on the floor with her knees brought up to her chest. Another loud boom of thunder sent shivers down her spine.

"Don't worry, Rikku. I'm sure it'll be over soon." Yuna calmly told Rikku.

"Yeah. That's what you said an hour ago." Rikku covered her ears as yet another loud boom of thunder rang throughout the skies.

"Yuna's right, ya know. The storms we have here usually don't last long, ya." Wakka was sitting beside Lulu and his baby son, who was in the arms of his mother, Lulu.

"I hope Paine's alright. Before I left Celsius, I checked on her and she was still asleep, so I left her alone. She had been out late last night." Yuna sat down beside Rikku.

"I'm sure she's fine, Yuna. She's safe inside Celsius." Buddy told the ex-summoner.

Brother stood. "Hudrehk lyh bahadnyda dra fymmc uv Celsius!"

"We know. We know." The group said in unison.

Inside the cabin in Celsius, Paine was just waking up. The thunder outside was making her headache worse by the second. She let out a low moan when she sat up and put her hand to her forehead. _I knew I shouldn't have drunk that much._ She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and leaned back on her hands. _That thunder isn't helping me at all._ She glanced around the room. Besides the storm outside, it seemed pretty quiet and peaceful here inside Celsius. She stood and walked towards the stairs, her hand was still on her forehead. _Maybe Barkeep has something for this headache._ After going down the stairs, she walked over to Barkeep and leaned up against the counter.

"Hey, Barkeep. Do you happen to have anything for a headache?"

"No. Shorry. All out." The Hypello answered.

Paine sighed. "Oh well. Where is everyone?"

"They went out too Beshaid. It shtarted raining hard and they deshided too shtay there until it calmed down." Barkeep explained to the young warrior.

Paine headed back up the stairs and towards the window. It was indeed raining extremely hard. _Hopefully it calms down soon._ She sat back down on the bed. A strange feeling swelled up in her gut. She pushed herself to her feet and slowly took a few steps towards the window. She felt like something was pulling her, wanting her to go outside in this awful weather. Ignoring the strange pull, she took a few steps back; she felt uneasy about something, but she didn't know what exactly.

The wind outside started to pick up, and the thunder got louder and louder each passing second. A massive wave came up from behind Celsius, and seconds later, it hit the airship head on. Celsius shook violently, thrusting Paine forward and through the glass in front of her. With her arms covering her head -trying her best to protect her face from the glass that fell with her- she fell into the ocean.

The sound from the storm was drowned out by the ocean when she fell in. All she could hear was water. Rushing water. The violent ocean kept her from swimming to the top and getting air; it wanted to keep her down, and it was doing a marvelous job doing so. Paine opened her eyes and tried her best to swim to the surface, but the water only pushed her down further. Everything began to darken as the young warrior continued going deeper and deeper into the vast ocean……

"How is she?"

Paine's head swayed from side to side as her senses slowly came back to her. She felt a soft pillow beneath her head, and something that felt like cotton sheets beneath and over top of her.

"She will be fine."

Voices. Male voices. _Where…am…I?_ Her eyes fluttered open, but shut quickly and tightly when she was almost blinded by the bright light all around her.

"So where did you find her?"

She tried her best to listen in on the strange voices' conversation.

"She washed up on the banks right outside Esthar, sir."

"Does she have any kinda identification or anything?"

"A backpack was found with her; but no identification of any sort."

__

A backpack? My backpack? But…what **happened?**

"What was in the backpack?"

"Several of these strange spheres. We have not yet figured out what they are exactly, and then attached to the backpack was a sword of some kind."

__

My sword! My spheres! That **is** my backpack! But how did it-how did **I** and my backpack get here? I don't remember having it with me… Paine tried to think back to what had happened just seconds ago. Or it _felt_ like seconds ago, anyway. All that flashed in her mind was water. Dark, cold water. She shivered at the thought of that. _Wait a minute._ She thought back to what she had heard one of the voices say. _Right outside Esthar? Where the hell is **that**? I don't remember there ever being an **Esthar** in Spira._ Her eyes slowly opened, but it took a bit for her to get adjusted to the bright lights in the room that she was in.

"Looks like the little lady is awake." Another man's voice. Not the same as the other two. It sounded…different. She didn't know how, though. Her mind wasn't working all that well right now.

"Hey. You feeling alright?" It sounded like the man who had first asked how she was. As she looked up at him, she could now place a face with the voice.

He had shoulder-length blackish brown hair and what looked to be light green eyes or even brown. He was dressed in simple brown pants and a blue jacket with a white shirt underneath.

Paine tried to find her voice, but instead, she just nodded. She looked around the room and noticed she was in a hospital room. Aside from the man in the blue jacket, there were two other men in the room. A doctor, who looked to be in his mid-sixties with a slightly balding head, and then one who certainly didn't look like a doctor. This man was dressed in red, and had dark skin. His black hair was pulled back and it may have been braided. Paine could not tell from where she was laying, nor did it really matter.

"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" The man in the jacket asked her.

__

Then can I ask you a few questions? Maybe like…who are you and why am I here, 'cause I **know** I ain't in Spira. She looked up at the man, and cleared her throat. "Sure."

"Okay then. What's your name?"

"Paine."

"Uh…is that P-A-I-N?"

"P-A-I-N-E."

"…Okay…" The man had a notebook and pencil out, writing up whatever was said. "Your age?"

"Eighteen." Paine sat up in a sitting position.

"Where are you from?"

She quickly thought of something to say. "Esthar."

"So…do you remember how you ended up outside of Esthar?"

"No. I don't remember. Everything's a blur." She thought it was best if she lied. She didn't know these men and like they would believe she was from Spira. More than likely, they didn't even know Spira existed. _So this is…a…different world? How is that possible? I mean-how could I travel from Spira to…**here** in less than a few seconds? Maybe it was that-_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the same man. "Do you have any relatives here? Someone that we could notify?"

"No."

The man scratched his head. "Well…I guess that's all the information I'll be needing for now." He and the other man turned to leave the room. "Get some rest. I'll be back to check on you in a bit." The two left.

The doctor stayed and checked to see if she had a fever. "He's right. You need rest."

Before the doctor left, Paine quickly called him back. "Doc, where's my clothes and my stuff?" She just now noticed she was in one of those hospital gowns.

The doctor chuckled. "Oh right! They are in the chair to the left of your bed."

She looked over and saw them, right where he said they'd be. She looked back at the doctor. "Who were those two?"

The doctor looked at her, a confused expression on his face. "You don't know who they were?"

"My memory isn't so good after…well…you know…" She tapped her head with her right index finger as she said this.

"Oh yes, of course. Well, to jog up your memory, the man in the jacket is the president and the other is a good friend of his. One of his secretaries, too, I do believe." The doctor smiled. "President Laguna and Kiros. Laguna has done so much for Esthar." He quickly shook his head. "I'll leave to let you sleep now." Before she could say 'thank you', the doctor had left the room.

Paine quickly got up out of the bed, wincing when she found out how sore her body was, and undressed as fast as she could. It took her a while -even for the way the hospital gown was designed- but she had gotten her original clothes and boots on, and no one entered the room while she did this.

__

I swear. I feel like I've been hit all over with a sledgehammer. She rubbed the back of her strained neck. Right outside her room, she heard a male's voice. _Is that…that president guy?_ She slowly and quietly walked over to the door and leaned up against it; she did her best to hear what the voice was saying. _Yep. It's him._ _Sounds like he's on the phone._

"Hey! How are you?" A pause. "I'm doin' fine. Everything over here is doin' great." Another short pause. "Because I wanted to tell you about something. We found this strange young woman right outside Esthar. She says she's from here, but I'm not too sure about that. I've looked her name up, and found no one named that." Paine noticed he was starting to lower his voice, and she opened the door a bit to try and hear him better. "No. I'm _positive_ she's not from here. And if she was from another place, then why did she tell me she was from here?"

His voice kept getting quieter, and Paine was straining to hear what he was saying.

"She's sleeping right now." Silence. "Okay. When can you get here? Okay. That's a good time for me. Bye, Squall." She heard him hang up the phone and walk towards her door.

She walked quickly back to her bed, laid back down, and covered up. Her eyes were closed as she heard the door open, then shut a second or two later. As she laid there, she began to think about what had happened in just a short amount of time.

_Who is this Squall that's coming here? Should I be worried? They've found out, so I guess I should be. I can't trust them. I **have** to get out of here._

She sat back up and grabbed her backpack. _My sword. Where the hell is my sword!_ She had heard one of them say that they had found her sword along with her backpack…but her sword wasn't here! _They probably took it and put it up somewhere. But where?…I have to find it._ She checked her backpack, and found one of the spheres missing. _The thieves._ She hissed silently. The backpack was swung over her shoulder as she quickly, but quietly, made her way out of the hospital room.

She had made it halfway through whatever floor she was on in the hospital, and had found nothing. Until…

"Hey! Guard!" A doctor, Paine noticed he was the one from before, hollered after a man who was carrying something towards the elevator. Her sword.

"Yes, sir?"

"Take this there, too, please." The doctor handed the man a reddish-orange sphere. "It needs to be examined by the scientists. So make sure it's delivered in one piece, okay?"

"Understood, sir." The man took the sphere with his free hand and continued on his way to the elevator.

Once Paine finished watching the doctor leave and disappear around the corner, she quickly ran to catch the elevator before the man, who just now stepped inside, shut the doors and left with _her_ sword and sphere.

"Wait! Hold the doors open!" She knew the man didn't know she was the owner of the sword and sphere.

The man politely held the doors open for her as she ran inside and caught her breath. "Thank you," The doors shut and the elevator started to head down.

"Your wel-"

Paine punched him in the face and knocked him out cold. "For giving my stuff back to me." She grabbed her sword and attached it back to her backpack, while also placing the sphere back inside the bag. When the elevator doors opened, she ran out and towards the exit.

Obviously someone had seen the man inside the elevator and they yelled for help. Paine didn't pay too much attention to who it was, mainly because it didn't matter. What mattered right now was getting out of this place and finding a way back home. _Home… Sounds good._ She ran through the automatic opening doors and out onto the busy streets of what she had recently learned was called Esthar. But busy _streets_ wasn't what one would call…_this._

_And I thought things couldn't get any stranger,_ she thought as she looked around at the strange city. There weren't any streets. Well, not exactly, anyway. It was more like-a hard to describe kinda thing. She had never seen such technology. As she wandered away from the hospital, she looked everywhere, an amazed look on her face; the kind of look you would see on a little girl who had just seen a fairy or a unicorn. "Gippal would _love_ this place…" She found herself saying after a while. _Gippal…_

"Hey! You! Stop right there!" She heard footsteps behind her. As she turned to see who was the one yelling, she saw the man Laguna and his friend, Kiros. Accompanied with them were two guards; one of them was the guard that she had hit, but both had guns at their side.

Thinking quickly, she turned and ran. Why fight them? Besides the fact she didn't want to, she wasn't in the _best_ shape right now to fight anyone. Her body was still pretty sore.

She continued running, the four men not too far behind her. Her sides were starting to ache even more than before. She knew she had to ditch them sooner or later, and she needed it to be sooner **not** later. Before long, she turned a corner. There was a sign, but she didn't pay that much attention to it as she ran. A second later, it turned out that she had ran right into a circular room. In the middle of this room, was this control panel and a "drive way" of some sorts in front of that panel. _I wonder what kind of machina that is._ She examined the panel, wishing Gippal had been here. _He would know what to do with this._ She heard the footsteps coming closer and looked around, mainly for a hiding place. Not knowing where the "drive way" led to -maybe outside, maybe not- she quickly hid behind a few crates that were straight across from the entrance. As she leaned back against one of the crates and listened, she heard the men talking.

"Do you think she took one of the cars?"

"She may have. There's no other way out of this room."

Paine quickly looked over the top of the crates, trying her best to see what they were doing and not to get caught at the same time.

"Uh, you two take a car and search outside. I have to get back to my office." She could have _sworn_ she saw Laguna wink, but maybe she was just seeing things?

"Yes, sir!" The guards pressed a few buttons on the panel, and this machina on wheels showed up and the guards quickly got inside the machina.

_I wonder what that is? I think they called it a 'car'._ She watched curiously as the machina drove on the drive way and out of sight.

"But, Laguna-"

"No buts, Kiros. I have a lot of paperwork to finish and I think they can handle finding her." Paine noticed there was a strange tone in Laguna's voice as he said this, and she didn't like it one bit. The two walked back out into the city and out of her sight.

Not liking the situation she had gotten herself in, she sat cross-legged on the floor and tried to think of a way out of this. _I know they know I'm here. You can tell by the tone of his voice, and that wink I saw wasn't my imagination._ She was trapped, but if there's a will, there's a way. Right?

Moving to a crouched position, she decided that there were only two options: try and get one of those machinas, figure out how they work, and get out of here; _or_ fight her way through the president and his friend. _Well, you wouldn't think Laguna, being the president, would have any fighting experience, but _never_ judge a book by its cover._ So it was always a possibility that both, Laguna and Kiros, had fighting experience. _Come on, girl. Pick one. Option number one, or option number two._ A smirk appeared on her face. _How 'bout secret option number three?_ Standing, she walked out from behind the crates and in the direction of both the control panel and the way she entered the room……


	3. Meeting the President of Esthar's Son

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Disclaimer:_ I only own the plot. That's all._

****

Chapter III

Meeting the President of Esthar's Son

Stepping in front of the control panel, facing it, she pressed a button on it.

"Would you like to rent a car for 3000 gil?" A female voice asked her.

****

_Obviously they entered some code so they wouldn't have to pay,_ Paine thought glumly as she tried to remember how much gil she had. None. _Just my luck._

"Stop right there, Paine!"

_Right on time, boys,_ she turned and looked at Laguna and Kiros, who were now blocking the entrance.

"I don't understand. Why are you running?" Kiros calmly asked the warrior.

"We are your friends, Paine. You don't have to run. Whatever trouble you're in we can help you get through it." Laguna took a step towards her.

Paine waved a finger in their direction. "Nuh-uh. Too close."

"Just let us help you." She noticed Laguna was trying his best to persuade her to stay, but it wouldn't work. She knew she couldn't trust anyone is this…new world.

"There is a way for you two to help me." She quickly pulled out a sleeping potion and threw it at the two men. The spell hit its target.

Laguna and Kiros started coughing. "It's a-a-" Both men fell to the ground, Laguna was the first of the two to fall asleep; but before long, Kiros was asleep.

"I need your money." She walked quickly over to them and crouched to checked their pockets. Finding their gil and adding it up, she smiled. "This is plenty. Thanks." She stood and went back to the panel. _Combine option number one and two and whaddya get? Secret option number three._

After paying for the car, it came up from the ground and was now in front of her.

"Time to figure out how this machina works." She took the keys that had showed up on the panel and walked over to the driver's side, opening the door when she was in front of it. Sitting down inside the car, she shut the door and looked at the controls. She inserted the key in the key hole, and cranked the car. _This won't be so hard after all._ Looking around some more, she found the two pedals near her feet.

XxXxX

It didn't take her long to find out how to work the car. She was now driving out in the hot desert, away from Esthar. She had passed another car not too long ago.

_Now I wonder how fast this baby can go._ Pushing down on the gas pedal harder, she began to pick up speed. Something caught her eye in the rearview mirror. Looking up to see what it was, she found two cars behind her. They were catching up to her and fast. _Must be Laguna and them._ She quickly turned her attention back to where she was driving. _Shit._ She immediately stepped on the brake when she saw what was up ahead of her. A fence. She looked around the place and as far as she could see, there was a fence surrounding the entire place. She hit the steering wheel hard and cursed silently.

"Fro sa!" Hearing the cars stop not too far away, she unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door. She stepped out and saw Laguna getting out of one of the cars.

"There's no where to run, Paine. Just come with us and no one will get hurt." Laguna pleaded.

She was caught and she knew it. _Might as well. I ain't leaving this place any time soon, anyway._ She reached back inside the car and grabbed her backpack and sword. "I'll come quietly." As she walked over to the car Laguna had stepped out of, she watched the two guards that had stepped out of the other car. The one that she had hit was watching her closely as well. She tossed her backpack into the car and reached for her sword. That one guard quickly got into the other car and locked the doors. She rolled her eyes as she placed the sword into the car, along with the backpack.

XxXxX

"So where do you come from?" Laguna was sitting behind his desk in his office; Paine was in the chair in front of the desk. Off to one side was a rather big guy, and Paine had learned that his named was Ward, but he didn't talk much; she found out that he couldn't talk at all a moment later. Kiros was on the other side.

"Why is that important?" Paine crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair.

Laguna sighed. "You lied to me when you told me you were from Esthar. I just want to know the truth."

She didn't know of any other place in this world, so what was she going to say? Luckily for her, someone knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" Laguna looked towards the door as Paine turned around to see who it was.

A brown haired man in black jeans, black jacket, and a white t-shirt entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Paine studied him closely. _Son maybe? The two look a little like each other._

"Hey, Squall! I didn't expect you to be here so early." Laguna stood, obviously very happy that this man could make it.

"Is this her?" Squall asked, looking at Paine and studying her just as she was him. _She has the strangest eyes…_He thought, noticing her pale skin, silver-tinted hair and those red eyes.

"Yup. This is her alright. Squall, meet Paine. Paine, this is my son, Squall."

_So I was right._ She narrowed her eyes when she noticed him staring at her. "Am I so interesting to you that you have to stare at me?"

Squall flinched a bit, then turned to look at Laguna. "I need to speak with you privately, Laguna." He took one last look at Paine before heading out of the office, Laguna not too far behind him.

Paine wanted to listen in on their conversation, but she couldn't. Kiros and Ward were watching her.

XxXxX

"What have you found out about her?" Squall immediately asked his father once they were out of the room and the door was shut.

"Well, she's eighteen, her name is Paine -with an E- and that's pretty much it." Laguna put his hands on his hips. "Why are you so grouchy all the time? She doesn't seem that harmful. Although she _did_ injure one of my guards…"

"You mean to tell me that all this time that she's been here, you haven't figured out _anything_ about her?"

"I wouldn't say _anything_. I _did_ find out her age-"

"Would you like _me_ to interrogate her?" Squall folded his arms over his chest.

"No offence, but I want to find out more about her, not break her spirits or anythin' like that." The tone in his voice said that he was joking, but Squall didn't think it was too funny.

"I'm going to question her whether you like it or not."

"Fine then, grumpy. Take her with you to Balamb and question her there at Garden. Just as long as you get info outta her." Laguna watched Squall walk back into the room. Sighing, he followed him inside.

XxXxX

Paine turned her head to look at the men when they walked back inside. _Them two have different personalities for being related. You would never guess Squall was his son if you didn't pay attention to the fact that they look similar to each other._ She watched Squall stand a few feet away from the chair that she was sitting in.

"You're coming back to Balamb Garden with me. I will question you almost immediately after we arrive there." Squall kept his voice calm when telling her this.

_Balamb **what?** We're goin' to a freakin' **garden!** And I thought things here couldn't get any weirder._ She stood, picking her backpack and sword up off the floor as she did so. "Let's go then." She followed Squall out of the room.

She and Squall had walked around Esthar for about three minutes, and Paine was curious as to where they were going because they had already pasted the place where the cars were.

"Where are we going?"

"To the place where Ragnarok is parked. Ragnarok is the fastest way back to Garden." Squall didn't turn his head to look at her, but continued looking ahead.

"Ragnarok?"

This time, he looked over at her. "Yes. Ragnarok."

Once they stepped inside the place where this _Ragnarok_ was parked, Paine gasped.  
"This is similar to Celsius…" She slowly walked up to the airship and touched it.

"Celsius?"

"Yes. An airship that I ride on. Well…_used_ to, anyway." She continued looking at Ragnarok.

"There's another just like Ragnarok?" There was a surprised tone in his voice.

She turned to face him. "I guess you don't know about it, huh?"

"No…I don't." Squall stared at her suspiciously. "Let's get inside."

XxXxX

The entire time that they were flying towards Balamb Garden, the young warrior was wandering around Ragnarok, seeing if it was built similar to Celsius.

_She's a strange woman._ Squall found himself thinking. _If there was another airship, wouldn't Laguna know about it? I mean, isn't Esthar the only place that has the kind of technology to build an airship?_ He put Ragnarok on auto pilot and decided to go check on his 'new friend'. He couldn't trust her enough to let her roam around Ragnarok.

After going down the elevator and going through a few doors, he found the woman leaned up against a wall.

"What is it now?"

"We should be there in a few minutes." He informed her. She simply nodded, keeping her eyes closed. "Why did you lie to Laguna about where you came from? All you had to do was-"

"Because I did, alright?" Her eyes opened. Those red eyes glaring at him. "Mind your own damn business." She made her way pass him and to the elevator. Squall watched her leave, and followed her shortly after.

By the time Squall made it up there, Ragnarok was just landing outside Balamb Garden.

__

Finally, Squall thought glumly.

XxXxX

When Paine stepped out of Ragnarok, she looked up at this Balamb Garden. _Well I'll be. It's no garden at all. So why does it have Garden in the name? _She knew it didn't matter, but she was curious as to why they named it that. She'd have to ask some questions later. First she had to dodge the questions thrown at her.

The two walked inside Balamb Garden and into the lobby. Squall led the way to an elevator. Several people along the way stared at Paine, making her glare back at them. Before long, Squall and her were inside the elevator and moving up. The two stepped out when the doors opened and they walked through another set of doors.

Paine saw an older man with brown hair sitting at a desk. He looked to be in his forties, maybe even older.

"Ah, Squall. Is this the woman Laguna told you about?" The older man stood and greeted them.

Glancing back at Paine, Squall answered, "Yes. This is her," he turned his gaze back at the man behind the desk. "She was found outside of Esthar."

The man nodded. "So what is your name?" he directed that question over to Paine.

"Paine."

The man sat down and started to write down on some paper. "Nice to meet you, Paine. My name is Cid Kramer."

"If you don't mind, sir, I would like to question her."

_I have a name,_ she glared at the back of Squall's head, considering she couldn't see his face.

"I don't mind at all. Question her in the cafeteria."

"What?"

"I'm sure Miss Paine is hungry," Cid smiled at Paine. "so you can question her while she eats."

"Yes, sir." Squall mumbled, turning around to leave the room. "Follow me."

She reluctantly followed; her boots making a soft sound as she crossed the floor.

XxXxX

After Squall and Paine had left, Edea entered the room and walked up to the desk. "We need to talk about that woman, Cid."

"What about her?"

"She's not from here."

"And how exactly do you know that?" Cid automatically knew the answer before his beloved wife could answer. "Why do I even bother?" He let out a sigh, but continued. "What do you know about her?"

"She came here from another world." This surprised Cid when Edea told him this, but that surprised feeling quickly disappeared.

"From another world? I have a bad feeling about this." Cid ran his hands down his face.

"I also have a bad feeling, but not about the woman." Edea narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.

XxXxX

"So where are you from?" Squall quickly got down to business as Paine had taken a bite out of her sandwich.

Swallowing the food in her mouth, she ignored his question and took another bite of her food.

Squall was getting irritated by this woman and so he asked her again, "Where are you from?"

She remembered back to the map she had seen on a wall on the way to the cafeteria. "Deling City." Out of the names she remembered, that was the one that stuck out the most.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Any relatives?" He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest.

"No. None at all." She stared at her half-eaten sandwich. _At least that part is true._

"No parents, grandparents, siblings?" _If this woman was an orphan, wouldn't she have been at the orphanage? I don't remember anyone like her there before. She isn't much older than me, so if she wasn't at the orphanage, wouldn't there have been someone watching over her as a kid?_ Squall thought on this question for a moment. "Anyone like a babysitter that you had when you were a kid?"

"No one. No parents, no grandparents, no siblings, no one." Her expression was blank as she said this.

Squall could see that there was a look in her eyes that told him that she wasn't lying. "Any friends that I could talk to?"

"No." _I have friends, but they aren't in this world,_ she felt a knot swell up in her throat.

"What were you doing before you were washed up outside of Esthar?"

She wanted to answer him, but couldn't. A disgusting taste filled her mouth. Quickly, she stood and ran over to the nearby trashcan; all the food she had just eaten came back up.

"Are you okay?" Squall now stood behind her, hand on her right shoulder.

She felt dizzy as she stepped back from the trashcan. Hand to her forehead, that headache was coming back again.

"Let's get you to the infirmary." Squall walked beside her as he led her out of the cafeteria and towards the infirmary.

XxXxX

"I don't know what may have caused you to vomit and feel dizzy, but I highly suggest you get some rest." The doctor, Dr. Kadowaki as Paine had learned, told her after she took her temperature. "No more questions until she feels better." That was directed towards Squall, who was also in the room.

Squall simply nodded, keeping his eyes on Paine. After Dr. Kadowaki left the room, it was only Paine and Squall left.

"I'll leave to let you rest."

She nodded and watched him leave. Laying down, she closed her eyes and tried her best to sleep.

XxXxX

Squall Leonhart left the infirmary and headed back up to Cid's office.

"So how did the questioning go?" The headmaster asked Leonhart when he stepped through those double doors in front of his desk.

"She says she's from Deling City and has no relatives or friends. I didn't get to ask her much. She's now in the infirmary."

"What happened?" Worry was filled in his voice and eyes.

"She just got sick. Hopefully a little sleep will make her feel better." Squall sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

"Once she's awake, why don't you show her around Garden?" Cid smiled as he said this, leaning back in his chair to get comfortable.

"What? But we hardly know anything about her. She could be dangerous."

"I have a feeling she's not going to be any harm to us. Besides, you want to learn more about her, correct?" Getting a nod from the man in front of him, Cid continued. "Then become her friend. The poor girl has no one else, as you said yourself."

Sighing, he said, "Fine. I'll show her around Garden when she feels better."

"Maybe you could even introduce her to the others. I'm sure they'll help her feel welcome."

Squall didn't quite understand why Cid was suggesting he do this, but he trusted him. He stood and quietly left the room, understanding what he was told to do.

Edea stepped into sight. "The girl is far away from home. The least we can do is to make her feel welcome."

"Yes, I know. She must've looked at a map sometime because she told him that she was from Deling City."

"It's better than letting Squall or anyone else know where she is truly from." Sitting in the chair, she folded her hands in her lap.

"Sooner or later they will find out, you know. Then we'll have to deal with this little problem." He rested his hands on the desk.

"Until then, she will just have to stay here."


	4. The Note

Disclaimer: Same as last chapter. I don't own anything. Just the plot.

**Chapter IV**

**The Note**

**In Spira, around the time that Paine had met Squall……**

"I'm not sure the guys will handle this well," groaned Rikku. She and Yuna had asked Baralai, Gippal, and Nooj to meet them at Youth League HQ. All three wanted to know what this was all about, but Yuna refused to tell them until she could do so in person.

"I agree, but we still need to tell them," letting out a sigh, Yuna walked steadily toward the double doors in front of them. She didn't even need to explain why she was here to the two guards at the doors because they bowed and automatically opened the doors for her.

Rikku and Yuna walked inside, both tried not to look worried, but failed to do so.

"So what's this meetin' for?" asked Gippal, who looked back and forth between the two girls.

Baralai was the next to ask a question. "And where's Paine?"

Both Nooj and Gippal agreed on this. "Yeah, where's Paine?" The self-confident Al Bhed asked Yuna.

"There's no easy way to say this, but," Yuna swallowed her words, not wanting to say them until they looked around some more to at least find _some_ evidence or proof that Paine was not missing. And unfortunately the evidence they had was not looking too good right now. "Paine is missing."

All the guys had shocked looks on their faces. "What are you talkin' 'bout? Paine can't be missin'. We just saw her last night-" Yuna broke off Gippal's sentence.

"She is missing. We had left her to sleep inside Celsius while we visited Besaid, but a storm forced us to stay there," Yuna started to explain in a quiet voice. "And after the storm passed, we went back to Celsius and she was…gone." She had more to say, but she thought that she would let all that sink into the guys before she told them the worst news.

"Then let's go find her! I can get everyone at the Machine Faction to start lookin'. She couldn't have gotten far, and even if she had, we'll have a lot of people lookin' and we can find her in no time."

"Gippal's right. With a lot of people looking, we should have no problem in finding her. I can get a lot of my guards, even all of them, to help look for her." Baralai explained.

"Same here. I'll pitch in some guards also," said Nooj.

Yuna looked sideways at Rikku, who had kept quiet. Rikku gave her a slight nod. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Yuna decided to continue her explaining. "Before you give the order to began searching, you should know something." The worry that now filled the guys faces stopped her from continuing, but she took another deep breath and continued anyway. "Barkeeps says a strong wave hit Celsius and…just a second after that wave hit, he heard glass shattering."

This kept everyone quiet. Rikku decided to at least give everyone _some_ hope. "We can start lookin' right now and it shouldn't be that hard to find her, now that we have a good idea of where she is." She smiled a little, but that smile disappeared when she saw the look on Gippal's face. _I hate seeing him like this… It makes me depressed just by looking at him._

"I'll get everyone I can on the search," after that said, Gippal left the room, not saying another word.

With balled up fists, Baralai soon followed Gippal. "I will do the same, also." He told everyone, then left.

Nooj tried to hide the worry in his voice as he spoke, "Rikku is right. It shouldn't take us long now that we have a general idea of where she should be." He knew that since the ocean was the last place that she could possibly be, it would take them a while; the ocean was a big place for one woman to be lost in. _I'm sure she's safe somewhere,_ Nooj told himself, trying to keep him calm. He quietly left the room to start gathering up people for the search.

XxXxX

It was at least three hours after the group started searching the ocean for Paine, and so far, no one found anything. Gippal was pacing back and forth along the shoreline of Besaid.

_Where could she be? That storm could've carried her off to anywhere,_ he couldn't stop himself from thinking these thoughts. He knew he was right. Just ten minutes ago, one of the Al Bhed had come up to tell him that they hadn't had found anything. He did so every ten minutes, and every time, Gippal knew what he was going to say and just hoped that sometime soon the answer would be different.

Nooj and Baralai had their people looking on other shore lines, while Gippal had his looking in the area near Besaid. The Gullwings flew low around in Celsius searching the ocean. News had gotten around fast in Spira about the missing warrior.

An Al Bhed man ran up to Gippal, obviously wanting to deliver a message to him. "Gippal, Nooj fuhtanc ev oui luimt buccepmo lralg Luca vun res cehla ra ec cdemm lralgehk Kilika."

"Oayr, E'mm lralg Luca vun res." Gippal shooed the man off and walked over to the Comsphere. "Hey, Yuna, I've got a favor to ask of you."

"Yeah, what is it?" Yuna appeared in the Comsphere.

"Some Al Bhed and I need a ride to Luca right quick. You can just drop us off there,"

"Sure. We'll be right over. We're not far from you,"

Gippal clicked off the Comsphere for now and picked out four Al Bhed to accompany him to Luca. He wanted to take more, but some still needed to stay here and continue their search.

It was five minutes later before Celsius landed near Besaid, and just a couple minutes later as they loaded up and took off. It didn't take them long to get to Luca, and when they did, Gippal and the four Al Bhed got off of the airship.

Not wasting any time, Gippal told each Al Bhed where to begin their search and to report back to him if they found anything. Gippal himself began to search the actual town of Luca, the others were searching the docks and ocean near Luca.

"Excuse me, Gippal! May I ask you a few questions?" It was the news reporter, Shelinda.

"Yeah, sure." Gippal really didn't feel like talking, but unless he answered just a few questions, that lady would continue bugging him.

"Is it true that the woman named Paine is missing?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, but we hope to find her pretty soon."

"How are you handling this situation? I mean, you and Paine are pretty close friends, right?"

"I'm handling it the same as Nooj and Baralai. We are all worried about her, and hoping that we will find her soon." He ignored her last question, and Shelinda noticed.

"How close are you and Paine, exactly?"

"We are just friends. Besides, what does that question have to do with the search?" He put his hands on the back of his hips.

"Well, uh, it doesn't. But how would you handle it if she was to be found dead?"

This question angered Gippal. "Look, she won't be found dead. We're gonna find her alive and that's that." Turning, he started to leave.

"Well, that's that-"

Shelinda's voice got softer and soon disappeared as he walked into the small crowd of people that usually stayed here in Luca.

_We're going to find Paine alive and well --even if it's the last thing I do,_ he was confident in finding her. Very confident.

XxXxX

Baralai was on the shoreline near Bevelle and had been there for a while now. _I can't believe we haven't found _anything_ on her disappearance, and it's been a few hours now,_ he rubbed his head with one hand. "I hope someone finds _something_ soon." He let out a sigh, his face showed the worry that he felt.

"Praetor!" One of the men on the job of searching ran up to him.

"Yes?"

"I've got good news and bad news."

Baralai was just happy that there was good news. It was like a miracle. "What's the good news?"

"We know where Paine might be, and she's safe and sound."

"If you don't know where she is exactly, how can you know she's safe and sound?"

"By this note," The man held a piece of paper in his left hand.

"What? Let me see that," Baralai took the paper that was handed to him. "'_To all who are looking for Paine,_" He began reading what was on the paper, "'_She is safe. For now. I have kidnapped this woman and I will keep her until you bow down to my master's power and surrender your world to her. If you do not do this, I will make sure the woman is no longer part of these worlds. She will be a lifeless body in the ground._'" He had slowed down near the end, trying to find it in him to not believe what was written.

"I'm guessing this is the bad news…" A shiver went down Baralai's spine. "I will deliver this…message to the others immediately." He headed to the Comsphere. "Yuna…"

"Yes, Baralai?"

"Come pick me up, please."

Yuna noticed the worry in his voice. "Okay…"

Nearly thirty minutes later, the Gullwings and the three leaders gathered back up inside Celsius.

"So what'd ya find?" Gippal asked Baralai almost immediately after he had arrived on the airship.

"A note." Baralai remembered what the note had said, word for word.

"What does it say?" Nooj asked the Praetor. Baralai did not read it, but handed the paper to Nooj.

After Nooj had read it, he was silent. He couldn't think of the right words to say. Gippal, on the other hand, knew the right words to say after he read it.

"Dryd cuh uv y pedlr! Ruf tyna ra dyga Paine!" Gippal was furious.

The paper had been passed around and read silently -no one wanted to read it out loud. After a long while of silence, Yuna spoke up. "We'll find her. Even if we have to search all of Spira; we'll find her, alive and well."

XxXxX

**In a small house somewhere in Spira……**

"Master, the group has found the paper." A man who looked to be in his late thirties, said.

"Good," echoed a woman's voice throughout the entire small room that the man was in. The room had a small bed on the floor along the wall across from the door and clothes and trash was scattered everywhere, covering most of the wood floor.

"What shall I do now, master?" The man asked the voice.

"Wait," the woman told him. The man lowered his head as the room grew dark. A low hiss of wind blew through a window that had been creaked open a couple inches. Light gray smoke trailed into the room much like the wind had done. The thin stream of smoke started to swirl around slowly in front of the gray haired man. As it did so, it got thicker and thicker.

Before him, a woman began to emerge from the smoke. On her face, a thick, dark purple mark started at the hairline and continued diagonally and stopped at a point in-between her eyebrows. Another did the same on the other side. On each mark, the purple continue down on the sides of her face, next to the hairline, and went inward on her cheeks - ending at the corners of her dark purple lips. Dark purple eye-shadow covered her eyelids and connected with the marks on the side of her face. A darker color of purple formed her eyebrows and went upwards, almost connecting with the other marks. Her eyes were a yellowish-green color, and her silver hair ran down the sides of her pale face.

Two thick horns came out of the top of her head and went outwards a bit, then curved up and ended in a sharp point. The base of the horns were yellow, then came a thin line of red, then finally, lavender was the color of the rest of the scaly horns. On the sides of her head - connected to the multi-colored horns - small, dark purple horns swirled around once and then pointed outwards. To finish up the woman's appearance, she wore a dark dress that had a large amount of dark fur attached to the neck line of the clothing.

"Master." Almost immediately after the woman fully formed, the man lowered his head and hands to the now cold floor.

"Until my plans are fully in action, I want you to stay hidden. No one should suspect you of kidnapping her." The woman grinned. "Or so you hope." Taking a step toward the man, she slightly turned her head to the side, that grin stayed glued on her face. "If anyone suspects you, just don't say anything. Better yet, _say_ anything. They kan't stop me." She let out a chuckle.

"Whatever you say, master," the man was like a mindless slave, his voice monotone.

XxXxX

**In Besaid, later that night……**

Everyone else had went to their separate homes, but Yuna stayed up and stared into a burning fire in the middle of Besaid.

"She wouldn't want you to worry about her."

Yuna turned her head to look at the person who sat down beside her. "I know, Tidus, but how can I _not_ worry about her? Some person out there is holding her hostage." She remembered back to what the note had said. "Are we just supposed tell everyone to surrender to this unknown person? How can we get her back?"

"We search every place in Spira 'til we find her. Who says we have to _surrender_ to this person? They could just be bluffing. Ya never know." The blond wrapped an arm around her. "Don't you worry. We'll find her."

"I hope so." Yuna laid her head on his shoulder. "I hope she's alright…"

"She's Paine, and she would never let someone even _touch_ her, so if they kidnapped her, we should probably feel worried for them instead of Paine."

She let out a small chuckle. "You're right." Letting her eyes close, she sighed.

Tidus rubbed her arm a bit and leaned his head against hers. "Don't you worry. We'll find her."


	5. The Ex knight Meets His Match

**Jahiro19:** I apologize for not putting the translations for the Al Bhed at the bottom. Though, in chapter four there wasn't much Al Bhed, I don't think. Eh...but chapter six as a lot...so... I'll translate that for you sometime before I post it. Still, I am sorry, and I can try to put translations at the end of each chapter --if, of course, there's any Al Bhed. I am glad that you enjoy this story, though.

**UltraBeing:** Glad ya think I wrote out Squall well in ch. 3. I think I did too :D And how  
Ultimecia got to Spira? MWUHAHAHA! I'm evil, very.

And thanks to all my other reviewers!

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot. That is all.**

**Chapter V**

**The Ex-knight Meets His Match**

Morning is due to all-

To some- the Night-

To an imperial few-

The Auroral Light. **_-_Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

_Wake up, child. You need to sleep no longer. The time is almost near._

Paine stirred a bit in her sleep. _Time? Time for what?_ Her mind asked.

_Time for this world to become ours, that's what._

Her eyes fluttered open. For a moment, her mind couldn't figure out where she was. All she felt was the soft sheets and pillow beneath her. _Where…am I?_ She looked around the room. It was something like a hospital room.

"Ah, you're up. How do you feel?" A woman in a white doctor's coat stood beside the bed that she lay on.

"I have a headache…" She rested a hand on her forehead. _My head is pounding…_

"Do you remember where you are?"

"Yes…" Her mind quickly remembered the place. _Balamb Garden. The infirmary. I puked before Squall brought me here. Squall!_ "Where is Squall?"

"He just left here a good ten minutes ago, but I can go get him if you want me to," The doctor looked at her.

"He'll find out sooner or later," Paine closed her eyes and wished for the headache to leave her.

Taking that as a 'yes', the doctor left the room to go find Squall.

_Who was that woman speaking to me as I slept?_ She wondered silently. _Or was it just simply a dream and nothing more?_ The words that the woman had told her rang in her head. '_Time for this world to become ours,_' was what the woman had said, but why did she say such a thing? Deciding that thinking about it would only make her headache worse, she sat up, pushed the pillow against the wall, and leaned back on that.

XxXxX

Squall had just been walking towards the cafeteria when Dr. Kadowaki came walking up to him.

"She's awake, Squall. And please, don't ask her many questions. She has a headache," Kadowaki explained to him.

He nodded, and made his way past the doctor and toward the infirmary. When he stepped inside the room, he saw the woman back up against the wall, eyes closed.

"If you are resting-"

"You can sit if you want." Paine said, interrupting him.

Squall pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down in it. "Are you going to ask me questions?" He heard Paine ask, her voice low. "No, I'm not. Dr. Kadowaki just told me that you were awake and I wanted to check up on you." She kept quiet, so Squall decided to keep talking. "If you feel better, I could show you around Garden and possibly the dorm that will be yours during your stay here."

She opened her eyes and looked over at him. "Sounds nice." She sat up fully and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I'd like that."

Squall stood and watched her stand also and move towards the door. He joined her on the way out. "I could introduce you to a few friends of mine, also," He glanced sideways at her.

"Sure. Why not? I have a feeling I'll be staying here for a while anyway."

"That side of Garden," He pointed to the right. "consists of the Library, the Training Center, the Parking Lot, and the dormitory. On the other half, is the Infirmary, the Quad, and the Cafeteria. Each place as a sign in front of it so they shouldn't be hard to find. If you ever get lost, just go to that over there," He pointed at a device a few feet in front of the stairs which led to an elevator. "There are four floors here. The first two floors are the ones you have access to. The other two, which are the Headmaster's office and the bottom floor, you have to have an access code and/or key to go to." Paine just listened, trying to remember everything he said. "Now, on the second floor, there are the classes in which every student here must go to."

"Classes? So this place is kinda like a school?"

"You could say that, yes." He looked over at her. "The Gardens here are used to train elite forces called SeeDs."

"Ah…" Paine crossed her arms. "Can we go to the cafeteria? I'm hungry."

"Do you really think-" From the look he got from her, he cut himself short. "Fine. I guess it's okay." He turned to walk to the cafeteria, Paine was right behind him.

When they entered the large room, Squall immediately saw the small group of his friends there, eating their lunch.

"…and so that's when-" Selphie stopped telling her story when she saw him. "Hey, Squall!"

XxXxX

Paine followed Squall to the table where five people sat.

"Who's she?" A blonde haired woman asked Squall.

"This is Paine. She will be staying here for a while." He explained. "Paine, this is Quistis."

The woman named Quistis smiled. "Hello."

"Selphie, Zell, Rinoa, and Irvine," He pointed to each one as he said their name.

"Heya, Paine, nice to meet ya." The spiky blond, Zell, waved.

"Hello." She caught the one named Irvine staring at her. "What?" She hissed.

"Nothin'." The cowboy lowered the hat on his head a bit.

Selphie kicked him underneath the table. "It better be nothin'."

"So I'm guessing this is the person that you picked up in Esthar?" Quistis asked.

Squall nodded. "Yes, she is." He pulled over a chair and sat down.

"Why don't you join us, Paine?" Selphie's eyes were wide, as was her smile.

She did the same as Squall and sat down. _Hopefully they won't ask any questions about me,_ she crossed her legs and rested her elbows on the table. _They are your enemy. You cannot trust them,_ came that same voice from before. She was confused as she looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. _It's just…my imagination, that's all,_ But since when did her imagination talk to her like that?

"Paine? Are you all right?"

She immediately snapped back to reality. "Huh?"

"I said: are you all right?" It was Squall.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You don't look too good." Rinoa cocked her head to the side. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Paine felt a bit dizzy, but other than that, she felt fine. "I'm fine. You worry as much as-" _As Yuna._

"As who?" asked Squall.

She knew she should've watched what she said more closely, but the dizziness kept her from thinking straight right now. "Never-mind." Standing, she turned to leave the cafeteria, completely forgetting the fact that the main reason she wanted to come here was to get some food.

XxXxX

"What's her problem?" Zell asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"She's just…homesick, I guess," Squall watched her leave and turned to face the group. "I'll go check on her." He knew something was wrong other than homesickness. Right after he left the cafeteria, he found Paine leaned up against the wall. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"I know something's wrong. Why won't you tell me?"

"Because it's none of your damn business!"

Squall shook his head. "How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me what's wrong?"

"Who said I needed your help?"

"No one, but-"

"Just…show me to the room I'll be staying in." She stared at the floor.

Nodding, he headed in the direction of the dorms. _I wish she'd let me help her. She reminds me so much of- of me…_ It didn't take him long to lead her to the dorms. "Here's the key and there's your room," He said, pointing to the second door on the right.

She took the key and walked over to the door, unlocking it. As he turned to walk away, he heard her say something.

"Thank you."

By the time he had turned around to say 'you're welcome', she was already in her dorm.

XxXxX

Paine was laying on the bed in the dorm, staring at the ceiling. _I should go back and get my backpack and sword,_ she remembered that she had last left them in the infirmary. Looking at the clock, she had realized that it had already been an hour and a half since she had seen Squall or even left the room. She was unusually tired, yet she couldn't seem to sleep.

Finally deciding to go get her stuff, she stood and quietly left the room. On her way to the infirmary, she ran into someone. _I do believe her name was Rinoa, right?_ She would have to try and remember everyone's name.

"Oh! Hi, Paine." The woman smiled. "Do you feel better?"

Paine suspected that they must've thought she had fallen asleep. "Yes, much better." _She kinda reminds me of Yuna,_ she shook her head.

"I was just going to grab me some dinner. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure, just let me get my stuff out of the infirmary and I'll meet you in a bit."

"Gotcha!" Rinoa turned and walked towards the cafeteria.

After grabbing her sword and backpack out of the infirmary and placing them in her room, she met up with Rinoa in the cafeteria.

"Hey, over here!" Rinoa waved at her from a table on the far right. She waved back at her to let her know she saw her, and went over to the cafeteria lady to get some food. Getting herself a hamburger, she sat down in the chair beside Rinoa.

"You'll really like it here. The hotdogs here are the best thing ever. Ask Zell!" Rinoa giggled. "He really likes them."

"I'll remember that."

"So where do you come from?" the woman beside her asked curiously.

"Deling City." It was now her automatic response for that question. Hey, it seemed to work, now didn't it?

"Really? What a coincidence! I used to live in Deling too."

Paine couldn't believe her luck. Her _bad_ luck. _Out of all the people, I had to find one who actually _lived_ in Deling._ It wasn't so bad, right?

"How long did you live there?"

She swallowed her food. "Most of my life." _Okay, so it isn't that bad. _She felt relief rush through her; she was just being overly worried, that was all.

"Hey, Squall!" The woman suddenly started to wave her hand in the air. Paine turned her head to the right to see the man in black walk towards them. Squall sat down beside Rinoa, he kept his eyes on Paine.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine." Paine answered him. _Why is he so worried about me?_

"Paine and I were just talking." Rinoa smiled at Paine. "So whatcha up to?" She looked over at Squall, directing that question towards him.

"I was just going to check on our guest to make sure she was all right," Squall looked at Paine.

She glared at him as she stood. "I have to leave now. I'll be in my dorm if anyone needs me." _Hopefully they will leave me alone,_ she thought as she quickly left the room, trashing the rest of her food before she left. She had only a few more bites of her hamburger left, but she felt like she couldn't take another bite.

XxXxX

"Squall, don't." He felt Rinoa's hand on his arm as he stood to follow Paine. "She's safe here so why do you continue to worry about her? She's probably just homesick, as you said before."

Leonhart sighed and sat back down. "I…I just feel like there's something she isn't telling us. Something is wrong with her and I can't figure out what it is."

"Of course not, silly. She doesn't want you to know." A soft smile appeared on her face. "Just give her time, okay?"

Squall nodded, agreeing. _I know she's hiding something… So how can I get her to tell me what it is?_

XxXxX

Paine was heading toward her dorm, when a man's voice coming from somewhere behind her made her freeze.

"I've never seen you here."

She turned, wanting to see who had said that. A tall, blond haired man stood only four feet away from her. His gray trench coat looked worn, as did his steel-toed boots. Those green eyes of his looked her up and down.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"I was just going to ask _you_ the same thing." He took a step closer to her, and she gave him a glare.

"I'd stay away from me if I were you." Her voice was cold, and her eyes were narrowed, yet she said it with a smirk.

"The name's Seifer." The man raised his head a bit. "And yours?"

"Paine."

"Paine? Odd name."

"And Seifer isn't?"

He chuckled. "So…are you like some other SeeD from another Garden?"

"No. I'm just visiting."

"Visiting who? A boyfriend, perhaps?"

"No, no boyfriend." _I don't think Gippal counts as a boyfriend. We only kissed once then I went to another world,_ she frowned at that thought, but only at the 'I went to another world' part. She didn't mind the kiss. Why would she?

Seifer raised his eyebrows when he heard she had no boyfriend. "Well, that's interesting."

"What?"

"A pretty girl like you is single. That's actually pretty hard to believe." He smirked. "Ya know, I'm single, too."

"I'll remember that, thanks." She said that with sarcasm in her voice.

"Why don't we-"

"Almasy." This voice made Seifer turn around and Paine look sideways a bit.

"Leonhart." Seifer narrowed his eyes and he practically snarled out that name.

"Leave her alone." Squall ordered the other man.

Paine stared at both of them, just now noticing that both the scars on their faces almost matched. Squall's was just in a different direction than the one Seifer had. _I wonder what happened between them two. You can't exactly miss the anger they have for each other._

"Why should I? It's not like I'm hurting her." Seifer pointed out.

"Leave her alone, Almasy. Don't go causing trouble after only four months of being back." Squall glared at him. "I suggest you walk away now while you still can."

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll leave your precious _girlfriend_ alone." He smirked as he said that, but turned to leave, stopping to look at her. "Catch ya later, babe." His boots made a soft _clicking_ sound as he walked off.

"_Babe_? _Girlfriend_? He'll be lucky if I don't hurt him the next time I see him." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Not many people can hurt Seifer, although a lot of people would like to, they usually don't have to guts to do so. He…can be trouble sometimes."

"Sometimes? He looks like he _lives_ to cause trouble."

"_Squall Leonhart, please report to my office. I repeat: Squall Leonhart, please report to my office,_" came a man's voice. Paine figured it was Cid.

Squall sighed as he shook his head. He had a 'now what?' look on his face as he walked away. Paine watched him leave, then headed back in the direction of the dormitory.

XxXxX

"Yes?" Squall entered the office. Cid sat at his desk, like usual.

"I have a favor to ask of you,"

_Uh-oh,_ he thought sarcastically. "What is it?"

"I would like to know if you could possibly take Paine out to someplace. Maybe her own home city, Deling? She may enjoy being back home. Besides, I hear Deling has some good restaurants."

"Okay…but what exactly to you want me to do with her? Question her some more?"

The headmaster laughed. "Nah, I wouldn't put her through that again. The last time she puked. Just get her some good lunch, or even breakfast. Either is fine, but breakfast may be better. The breakfast food here isn't exactly the best."

"Okay, then tomorrow morning I'll take her out for breakfast. I'm guessing you want me to learn more about her, correct?"

"I figured since she knows you better than anyone else here, that you could, yes, learn more about her. Sound okay?"

"Yes, sounds fine." _Why is it always me? I doubt she'll tell me _anything_ about her. If she's just like me, then no, she won't._

"Good! I do hope you have a splendid time."

_Right,_ he rolled his eyes as he headed out of the room. _Tomorrow will be an interesting day… I get to spend time with a woman who could possibly seriously hurt Seifer Almasy._ _Marvelous._


	6. The Storm Only Brings Trouble

Disclaimer: The plot belongs to me. Nothing else.

A/N: Okay, some of the Al Bhed is translated at the end of this chapter.

Chapter VI

The Storm Only Brings Trouble

Though the Great Waters sleep,  
That they are still Deep,  
We cannot doubt  
No Vacillating God  
Ignited this Abode  
To put it out- **-Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

"Gippal! Gippal! Frana'c Gippal!" The voice of an Al Bhed came to Gippal's ears, waking up the young man.

"Huh? Fru'c lymmehk so hysa?" He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eye. "Fryd desa ec ed?" He asked no one in-particular. Letting a yawn escape his mouth, he slowly stood up and decided to see who was calling his name.

"Gippal! Frana yna oui?" An Al Bhed man, taller than Gippal, almost ran right into him as he came out of his room inside Djose Temple.

"Frad'c dra syddan? Fro yna oui lymmehk vun sa?" Gippal asked the other Al Bhed, who was out of breath.

"E…ryja…pyt hafc…vun oui…" The taller Al Bhed said in-between breaths.

This woke Gippal up fully. "Fryd!" Immediately thinking the bad news was about Paine, Gippal thought his heart had just about stopped.

"Drana ec y…" The Al Bhed tried to catch his breath before he continued, but Gippal was getting impatient.

"Drana ec y fryd?"

"Drana ec y cdnyhka cduns nekrd uidceta Kilika Island."

"Yhd fryd ec cu sdnyhka ypuid drec cduns?" Gippal asked, curious.

"Ed ec zicd _caddehk_ drana uidceta Kilika."

"Dryd _ec_ sdnyhka…" Gippal tilted his head to the side and scratched the back of his neck, keeping his eye lowered. "E'mm damm Yuna ypuid drec. Gaab yh aoa uh dryd cduns, ugyo?"

"Ugyo." With that said, the Al Bhed turned and ran off.

Gippal walked over to the Comsphere. "Hey, Yuna, you there?"

"Yep, I'm here!" Yuna appeared in the Comsphere. "Whatcha need?"

"To tell you about something. I was just told about a strange storm that was right outside Kilika Island, probably a few miles from the actual town."

"Okay, but what's so strange about it?"

"It's just sitting there outside Kilika."

"Just…sitting?"

"Yeah, so I want you to be careful out there on Celcius."

"Don't you worry. We'll be extra careful!"

Gippal nodded and turned off the Comsphere. _Maybe I should warn Baralai and Nooj too…_ He turned back on the Comsphere and chose the destination Bevelle. "Hey, get Baralai for me, will ya?"

"Yes, sir!" The guard quickly ran out of view of Gippal and shortly afterwards Baralai showed up.

XxXxX

"Yes, Gippal? What is it?" Baralai asked the young Al Bhed through the Comsphere.

"Uh, there seems to be this strange storm outside of Kilika, so if you have any men there, I suggest you warn them about it -IF they don't know about it already."

He nodded. "Okay. Has anyone found anything on Paine over there?"

"Nah, not yet. We were thinkin' 'bout just lookin' in each individual house, but we've gotta get together later to come up with a good plan."

"Around what time later, exactly?"

"Oooh, probably after lunch."

"Okay then. Nooj's headquarters, I suppose?"

"Yup, see ya then, Baralai!"

With a click of the Comsphere, Baralai turned it off and stretched. _I do hope you are all right, Paine… I'd hate for something to happen to you. We all would,_ he yawned as he walked outside into the fresh, cool air. A slight breeze blew through his hair. "I would like you to get word to the men in Kilika about a storm right outside their position." He told one of the guards outside the building.

"Yes, sir." The guard saluted and ran off.

_A strange storm? I forgot to ask Gippal why he thought it was a strange storm… High winds, maybe? _He shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe I should ask him." Turned around, he walked back inside. Those Comspheres were becoming very handy. He flipped on the switch and chose the destination Djose Temple.

"Oac?"

"Oh, um, Gippal? Is he there?"

"Gippal?" It was another Al Bhed, one who was dressed in the usual clothes for Al Bheds: a jump suit and goggles. "Ah, Gippal mavd y vaf sehidac yku."

Baralai only knew a couple words in Al Bhed, but never really fully learned the language.

"He says that he left just a few minutes ago," Translated an Al Bhed woman who had come up behind the other Al Bhed.

"Oh, thank you."

"Sorry about that. He doesn't know Spirian."

"That's okay. Thank you again."

"No problem."

He clicked off that view and went to Youth League Headquarters. "Nooj?"

"Yes, Baralai?" Nooj walked into view.

"Did Gippal tell you about the 'strange storm'?"

"Yes, he did. Why?"

"Did he say why it was strange?" The Praetor asked his good friend.

"No, not really. Before I could ask, he was gone. Sounded like he was in a hurry."

"Okay, thanks anyway." After saying goodbye, both Baralai and Nooj turned off the Comspheres.

XxXxX

"A strange storm, huh? What's so strange about it?" asked Rikku.

"He said that it was just sitting out there a few miles away from Kilika Island." Yuna answered.

"And he's right." Shinra spoke up. "I've never seen a storm like this before. Look at the wind speed," He pointed at the screen of his computer. "That's too fast for a normal storm. Besides that, it's not even moving and has been like that ever since early this morning."

"What's causing it to act like that?" Yuna walked up behind the boy.

"I'm just a kid."

Rikku made a face. "We know you're just a kid. Why can't you answer us?"

"Rikku behave!" Brother jumped up from his driver's seat and stepped in front of Rikku. "No yelling in this ship."

"I wasn't yelling!"

"You were too!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Were too!"

"Kids, calm down now." Buddy stepped in-between the two. "Things have gotten hectic ever since Paine left, so don't go making things worse."

"Rikku cdyndat ed."

"Tet hud!"

"Here we go again." Buddy sighed.

Suddenly, the alarm system went off. Buddy and Brother went back to their stations.

"It's the storm! It's comin' right at us!" Buddy explained to the others.

Brother, being the one who was the pilot, immediately took off auto-pilot and began steering the airship on his own.

"The storm from Kilika?"

Rikku was the one who answered Yuna's question from her seat. "Yep. It just started to come near us!"

"And it's moving at incredible speed!" exclaimed Buddy.

Having Brother doing the driving, Yuna felt she was in safe hands. Brother knew how to handle the airship.

"Rumt uhdu cusadrehk!"

Taking Brother's advice, Yuna held onto the back of Rikku's seat. She felt the airship beneath her feet rise higher into the air. _Brother must be trying to fly over the storm,_ she thought as she watched out of the window in front of her.

A bright flash of lightning lit up the sky like the fourth of July. The thunder boomed loudly, causing the houses down on Spira to shake. The airship, Celcius, flew high into the sky and tried to fly over the storm. Celcius continued to fly, and the storm continued to rise; the deadly storm did not want the airship to get away from it and so it followed her.

The storm started to pull the airship in, making it almost impossible for Celcius to fly upwards anymore. Celcius was dragged downwards towards the threatening waves of the deep ocean. One wave after another, they tried to hit the flying machina, failing to do so each time. Brother wasn't about to let some stupid storm take the airship him and Buddy worked so hard into finding and fixing. He flew the airship a couple hundred feet above the ocean, dodging each wave that threatened to take them down. Celcius picked up speed quickly, and before they knew it, the waves were behind them and they were out of the danger zone.

A huge wave that could easily wipe out Kilika and Besaid Island in one shot if they were side-by-side came into view of the passengers of Celcius. That wave being in front of them and at least several thousand yards long, and the main storm (or what they had thought the main storm was) being behind them, they really didn't have that many choices on where to go -if any at all.

Celcius quickly turned around and flew in the other direction. The wave was literally _chasing_ them, something that a normal wave did _not_ do. It was like it had a mind of its own, or it was being controlled by something or someone that obviously wanted the group inside Celcius dead.

Knowing that they had to get out, Brother sped Celcius up even more in the direction of the main storm. As if the ocean knew what they were doing, another wave the exact size of the other came into view; this one was ahead of them.

"Rumt uhdu cusadrehk!" Brother repeated, his order barely being heard over the sound of the storm.

Before anyone barely had time to react, Celcius flew upwards in a straight line. With both waves at the same distance as each other -or so he guessed-, Brother figured he had enough time to fly upwards and out of the storm. Taking that chance, he continued to fly upwards.

"_Cred!_" Brother bit his lower lip.

"Fryd ec ed?" asked Rikku.

"Fa yna muf uh viam."

Yuna, understanding Al Bhed, quickly knew what he had just said and why he sounded so worried. They were almost out of fuel.

"Tu fa ryja ahuikr du kad ic uid uv rana?"

"E tuh'd ghuf," answered Brother.

Everyone still held onto their seats as Brother sped up Celcius to try and get them out of this situation. The waves came closer and closer to them at full speed… They came to a sudden stop. The airship started going downwards at amazing speed --like someone was pulling them down. Screaming could be heard on the inside.

A giant hand made of water was the one who was pulling Celcius down; its blue fingers wrapped around the flying machina perfectly.

A sudden stop and a loud splash let the group inside Celcius know that they had stopped falling. After the screaming had died down, Yuna stood and looked around in the dim light. No more sounds from the storm outside came to her ears so she guessed that the storm was over. The light that allowed Yuna to see around was the light which poured through the broken glass of the windows. She looked out of the broken window and she could see that Celcius just floated there in the middle of the ocean.

The sky was bright and full of white, fluffy clouds, and the ocean was a clear blue. It was like there had been no storm. That's when Yuna saw the dark clouds in the distance. Ahead of them, the storm was there. She saw small flickers of lightning, and heard the distant rumbling of thunder.

"Rikku? Brother? Anyone?" Yuna immediately looked around the airship to see where everyone was.

"Rikku here," came the small voice of the Al Bhed, Rikku. She slowly stood up and broken glass fell off of her. Her body had small cuts everywhere and her hair was a mess and still full of small pieces of glass.

Yuna hurried over to the body in the pilot's seat. "Brother?" She turned his head over so she could see him.

"Ah…yh angel…cu…bnaddo…" murmured the Al Bhed.

"Brother! You're all right!" Yuna helped him stand.

"Is everyone else all right?" Buddy stood also.

"I'm okay," called Shinra from beside his seat.

Yuna looked around and let out a sigh of relief. "At least everyone is okay."

"So Celcius ec niehat!" shrieked Brother.

"No worries. We can fix it. Should be no problem." Buddy walked over to the center of the room and looked around at the mess.

"Can she fly?" Yuna asked Brother.

"Uh…I think so…Yes, she should be able to fly." Brother quickly tried to start Celcius up. Succeeding, he gently rose Celcius up in the air, just a few yards above the water. "Yht fa ryja vmekrd!" Brother steered the airship in the direction of Kilika Island.

Yuna noticed that the dark clouds up ahead had disappeared, and she tilted her head to the side. _Does a storm just…disappear as quickly as that?_

They flew straight for a few minutes, and Rikku broke the silence. "Y'know, I could've sworn we'd be at Kilika by now."

Yuna agreed. "Yes, it should have only taken us a minute or two. Unless we were farther out in the ocean than we thought."

"No. We were just a few miles away from Kilika." Shinra was back in his seat, messing with his computer.

"I don't understand. We're right above where Kilika is supposed to be." Buddy was staring at the screen in front of him.

"He's right. We're above Kilika." Shinra looked back at the group.

Yuna, Rikku, and Brother all leaned over the edge of the broken glass to look down at the water. "Kilika is invisible," said Brother.

"No, you idiot! Kilika is underneath the water!" Rikku shouted, hitting her brother on the back of his head. "Kilika is underneath the water!" She shouted, her words just now getting to her.

"The storm! That must've sunk the entire island!" Yuna shrieked, hardly able to believe her own words.

"According to my computer, Kilika is not invisible," Shinra looked at Brother. "Nor has the island sunk."

"Then what happened to it?" asked Yuna. She didn't expect anyone to answer, but it would have been nice if someone knew what happened to an entire island…

XxXxX

**In a room hidden underneath the ground of Spira……**

A woman whose pale face could barely be seen in the candle-lit room sat in a large chair that could easily pass for a throne. The room around her was large and had both stone floors and walls. No windows, just stone. The woman's dark clothes blended well with the darkness around her. This woman was the woman who had spoken with the gray haired man somewhere in Spira. She was the one who had ordered him to deliver the note and make sure the Praetor had found it. Her gaze stayed glued on the thick door several yards away from where she sat.

A smile crept on her face as that door opened and a man with a rather strange hair style walked into the room.

"Why have you brought me here? How is this possible? The summoner Sent me." The man started asking questions, the blue color of his hair looked almost black as he walked through the shadows to the woman in front of him.

"To answer your first question, I have brought you here to…join me." The woman answered, her fore-arms lay on the arm-rests of the chair she sat in.

"How am I alive? Not that that matters right now, but I would like to know how it is that you brought me back from the dead." The man stopped walking when he was two yards away from her.

"I have power. Plain and simple." The woman stood, her gaze fixed on the man before her. "I would like you to join me in my quest to…take over a world, and at the same time, I could help you to rule over this world."

The man thought about this. "What world might you be talking about? I only know of Spira."

"Gala."

"So if I helped you rule that world, you would help me rule this world?"

"Yes."

"This world does need _someone_ to rule over it." He stared at her. "Might I ask your name?"

The woman grinned. "You may call me…Sorceress Ultimecia."

**A/N: Here are the translations:**

The talk between Gippal and the Al Bhed:

"Gippal! Gippal! Where's Gippal!"  
"Huh? Who's calling my name?"  
"Gippal! Where are you?"  
"What's the matter? Why are you calling for me?"  
"I...have...bad news...for you..."  
"What!"  
"There is a..."  
"There is a what?"  
"There is a strange storm right outside Kilika Island."  
"And what is so strange about this storm?"  
"It is just sitting there outside Kilika."  
"That is strange..." "I'll tell Yuna about this. Keep an eye on that storm, okay?"  
"Okay."

Rikku and Brother arguement:

"Rikku started it."  
"Did not!"

When Brother wakes up after the crash:

"Ah...an angel...so...pretty..."

That's almost all of the Al Bhed, 'cept a few lines here and there, but I'm sure you guys can figure out what they said.


	7. The Showdown

Disclaimer: Same as last time. The plot belongs to me. I own nothing else in this story.

Chapter VII

The Showdown

Would you like to try a duel- or is that too quiet for you- at any rate I shall kill you- and you may dispose of your affairs with that end in view. **-Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

_Why do you even bother to ignore me, child? I am not one that someone kan get rid of that easily. Ask that man named Squall,_ when the woman said his name, there was much hatred in her voice. _You are going to go with him this morning, anyway --might as well ask him about me; if you have the guts to._

Paine shot up in her bed; she was covered in sweat. _That voice…again…_ She slowed down her heavy breathing and quickly went to go take a nice, warm shower.

It didn't take her long to get dressed afterwards. While she was leaned up against the wall in her dorm, fully dressed, she thought about that voice. _Why does she continue to speak to me?_ _It can't be a dream. Dreams don't talk to you like that. And what did she mean when she said "You are going to go with him this morning,"_

She narrowed her eyes. "Where would I be going with Squall? I haven't seen him since yesterday, and he never mentioned anything about going anywhere with him." She shook her head. "I'll get answers sooner or later." _I hope,_ she quietly left the room and headed in the direction of the cafeteria. _Hopefully they have some good food for breakfast,_ she had forgotten to check the clock machina next to her bed to see what time it was, so she guessed it was early enough for breakfast.

"Did you sleep well?"

A grin appeared on her face. _Sneaky bastard,_ she turned around and saw Seifer. "Yes. I had the most amazing dream about you. Quite pleasant, might I add."

"Oh really?" His eyebrows raised. "And what was this…dream about?"

"Me kickin' your ass." Getting a surprised look from the man, Paine smiled. "And I did a good job at it, too."

"Why you little- Don't you know who I am? How dare you speak to me like that?"

She could tell he was angry. _Short-tempered, aren't you?_ "Your name is Seifer Almasy, and you are the biggest bastard of them all. It's quite easy to speak to you like that, actually. I simply open my mouth and the words just come out."

In one quick movement, Seifer grabbed Paine's arms and pinned her to the wall. "You don't want to mess with me, sweet-heart."

"Is that a threat?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you're a little boy who liked his mother too much." In response, his grip on her arms tightened.

"Who do you think you are?" He obviously did _not_ like her talking to him like that.

"Last time I checked my name was Paine."

"Smart-ass."

She glared at him with those red eyes of hers. "I suggest you let me go before someone gets hurt."

Seifer chuckled. "And who may that _someone_ be? You couldn't possibly hurt _me_."

Without wasting a second, her head collided with his and he stumbled back; his grip loosened. She didn't even let him recover from that hit as her hand balled up in a fist and went up against his jaw hard --hard enough to send him down to the ground on his back; a thin line of blood coming out of the corner of his mouth and down his chin.

"Paine!" Squall ran up to her and stopped, surprised to see Seifer Almasy on the ground. "What happened?"

"What does it look like? I hit him." She rubbed her right hand. "I warned him first, just in case this is going on my record." She had a smirk on her face.

Seifer slowly rose to his feet, rubbing the blood off his chin with the back of one gloved hand. "I suggest you leave, Seifer." Squall told the man.

Glaring at Paine, Seifer turned and left, muttering underneath his breath.

"I told you he would be lucky if I didn't hit him the next time I saw him. Guess today just wasn't his lucky day." She moved her eyes to look at Squall. "Did you want to speak with me?"

"Yes," Squall answered, just now remembering why he had went looking for her. "I was going to ask you if you would like to come with me to Deling City to eat some breakfast."

_So this is what she had meant… How did she know…?_ "Do I have a choice?"

"Yes."

"I need a good breakfast anyway." She crossed her arms.

She followed Squall to the Parking Lot and it didn't take them long to get inside a car machina and drive off.

XxXxX

"Two tickets to Deling City, please," Squall handed the right amount of gil to the lady and she handed them two tickets.

"Have a safe trip!"

Paine followed him past the woman and up a short flight of stairs. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the strange machina in front of her. _What _is_ this machina?_ She had never seen such a thing as that. It was long, had a lot of wheels, and made of what she had guessed was the same metal the car machina was made of. It looked like it was a great deal stronger, though. She should have known to expect such technology in this world.

"Paine?"

She looked sideways at Squall, the surprised look gone from her face. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." She wasn't sure of what this machina was, so she just followed him inside. She watched as he took a card and opened up a door to her right. That door let to a long hallway with windows on the right and rooms on the left.

"It shouldn't take long to get to Deling." She heard Squall say.

Simply nodding her head, she walked down the hallway and to the first door. Finding it locked, she turned her head sideways to look at Squall, who was just now coming toward her. He unlocked it and she walked inside.

Inside was a long couch up against two of the walls. She moved to the couch and sat down. There was a _ding_ sound and a female voice saying something, but she didn't pay too much attention to what was said. She was more interested in finding out what this machina was called as it started moving; but how could she find out without asking the man she was traveling with? If she asked, then he'd surely find out that she was not from this world. _It will just have to wait then,_ her conscience told her. _Yeah…How unfortunate for me,_ she thought sarcastically.

XxXxX

Squall had taken a seat on the right side of Paine. He was a couple feet away from her, but could still hear her steady breathing. That's how quiet it was. He had a feeling it was going to stay this quiet the entire time they were here.

Remembering back to when they first got on the train, he wondered why she had looked surprised for a split second. She did a great job of hiding it when she looked at him, but he still saw the way she looked at the train. _It was like…she hadn't ever seen a train before…_ But he thought that was impossible. If she lived in Deling, she surely would have seen a train.

He looked sideways at the woman in black and saw her just sitting there, legs and arms crossed. She quickly realized that he was looking at her and shot a glare in his direction. He turned his head to look straight forward and crossed his arms over his chest. This was going to be a long, quiet train ride…

XxXxX

They stepped off the machina and hopped on what she learned was called a bus. It didn't take long for the bus machina to stop and for them to get off. She looked upwards at a sign and saw that they were at the restaurant already. As they stepped inside, a woman greeted them.

"Table for two?" She asked.

"Yes."

She looked around as she followed Leonhart and the woman to a booth. They both sat down and the woman gave them two menus. "What would you like to drink?" She heard the woman ask.

"Water's fine."

"I'll have some water, too." Paine said, opening up her menu and reading it.

"Right. I'll be back in a sec." The waitress quickly walked off.

Scanning the menu, trying to find something that may sound good to her, Paine finally decided that she'd try the pancakes with apples.

"While we're here, we could stop by your home."

She looked up, her eyes were narrowed. "What makes you think I want to go back there? If I was found in Esthar, obviously there was a reason as to why I was all the way over there and not in my home."

Squall was a bit surprised by her answer, but recovered quickly. "And I suppose you know that reason?"

She shrugged. "I must've hit my head or something. I don't remember much."

"Here's your waters." The waitress returned and placed a glass of water in front of Paine, then another in front of Squall. "You ready to order now?"

"Yes. I'll have the omelet with bacon."

"And you?"

She looked up at the waitress. "The pancakes with apples."

"All right, I'll be back in a few minutes." The waitress took the menus and walked off.

"Don't you remember what you were doing at least a few hours before you showed up in Esthar?"

"Yes."

She could tell her answer shocked Squall. "Really?"

"Yes." She repeated.

"Would you mind telling me?"

"I woke up, left my bedroom, and everything else is a blur." She shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe someone kidnapped me. I don't know." By the look on his face, she could tell he was wondering why someone would want to kidnap her. She understood why he was thinking that. She herself didn't understand why someone would kidnap her; they'd have to be incredibly stupid to do such a thing.

"Did you have a job?"

"No. I was living off the money my parents left me." Seemed like a reasonable lie. _It'll have to do for now,_ she looked out of the window to her right. Deling City seemed to be rather quiet this early in the morning. The sun was just coming up in the distance, and she thought it was quite peaceful to watch. She continued to stare at this city that amazed every inch of her mind. Such a place did not exist on Spira. Not one that was around when she was there, anyway. When she was in her early teens, which was as far back as she could remember, she remembered someone telling her stories and showing her pictures of Zanarkand. Now Zanarkand was just…ruins…

Were there more cities like this and Esthar? Did every place here have such technology? These questions and more ran through her mind as she continued to stare at the city outside. She was certain that a look of amazement was in her eyes, though, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hide how amazed she was right now. Being drug out of her deep thoughts by the man in front of her, she turned her head to look at him, the look of amazement finally went away.

"What were your parents names?"

_I don't know. I never knew my parents. They were killed before I was old enough to remember them,_ she silently answered him. Her mouth opened to speak yet another lie, when she felt that sick feeling come back again.

"Paine?"

_I haven't even eaten anything yet!_ She screamed in her head. _So why do I feel like puking?_

"Are you all right?"

She opened her mouth to say 'yes', but after finding no words wanted to come out, she closed her mouth and nodded.

"Don't lie to me."

Opening her mouth once more, she found that she could now speak, but only in a whisper --and barely even that. "Dizzy…" Was all she could seem to say, for it was how she felt right now. Dizzy and felt like puking.

_It is almost time._

_Almost time for…what?_

_You'll see in about…a minute._

"Paine? Paine!" She felt her body fall over to the left and could hear someone moving to catch her before she hit the ground. They succeeded, whoever they were. She recognized the voice, but she couldn't quite place who it was.

"Call a doctor!" screamed the voice.

_A…man…_ She tried to think of who it could be, but came up blank. His arms were around her and she felt the cold floor beneath her legs, her upper body was leaned up against the man's chest; his heart began pounding hard and fast. That's when she heard the scream. A loud, high-pitched scream. You could easily tell it was a woman who did the screaming.

XxXxX

He held her against him, his mind racing. _What's wrong with you?_ He silently asked Paine. When he heard the scream, he began to look around for the woman who was screaming. He quickly found her; she stood in front of the glass door, a terrified look on her face. "What's wrong?" He asked the woman, hoping she would stop her screaming and at least tell him _why_ she was screaming.

From where he sat with Paine, he couldn't see out the window to see what was out there and he didn't want to move Paine.

"A…a…a…dragon!"

_A dragon!_ His eyes widened, confusion plastered all over his face. He felt Paine stir a bit, and slowly sit up. "Paine?"

"I'm…fine… What's this about a dragon?" She asked.

"I don't know. She says there's one outside." He answered, looking over at the woman who had finally stopped screaming and hid underneath a table, and then back at Paine.

"Then let's take care of it."

"What! You almost passed out, Paine! I don't think-"

"I'm fine now. Let's go kick some dragon ass." She had a look of confidence in her eyes, and he sighed.

"If anything ever happened to you…I…"

Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him. "You what?"

He shook his head. "Fine. Let's get rid of this dragon problem." He helped her stand and they quickly left the restaurant to see what they were going up against.

XxXxX

The huge Ruby Dragon looked down on the city --his eyes quickly found what he came for. A female human stood with a male, both looking up and watching him. Deciding that he could take both humans with him and eat the male for supper, he let out a low growl, anxious to taste human flesh.

Lowering, he kept his gaze on the two humans. When they started to run, he followed them out of the human-populated city. They now stood their ground now that they were out of the city. He didn't mind that they had left the city; as long as he got what he came for and some supper. Letting out a fierce roar, he dived down at the humans.

XxXxX

Paine took a couple steps back. Seeing the flying fiend suddenly dive down at them, she ran through their options. They didn't have many. "Run," she said, her voice loud enough for the man beside her to head. Keeping her voice calm and steady, she turned her head to look at Squall. "Run fast." Knowing he would listen, Paine quickly turned round and started running. Behind her, she heard Squall running, trying to catch up to her. He succeeded, and the two ran side-by-side. She didn't need to look back to know that the dragon was closing in on them and fast; the sound of its wings flapping was good enough.

She purposely let her feet slip out from underneath her as she grabbed Squall's arm, making them both fall flat on their stomachs. Instinctively, her arms covered her head as the dragon flew above them --close enough for her to feel the heat coming from its body for a spilt second.

She heard the unsteady breathing of Squall and opened her eyes, automatically looking up. Those red eyes of hers went wide as she saw the fiend quickly turning around and coming back at them. This time, there was no doubt it would get them. Rising to her knees, she fell backwards. _What to do? What to do!_ Her mind shrieked, realizing there wasn't any time to do _anything_ as the dragon was _too_ close.

The warrior wasn't even thinking as she pulled out her sword that had been by her side and raised it. The sword collided with the underbelly of the fiend as it flew _right above them_. She knew sparks had started to fly when the sword scraped across the hard scales. Though she couldn't tell if she had caused any damage, she still held onto the handle tightly --until the force got too strong and the sword flung out of her hands. Now on her side, she looked up to find her sword a few yards away.

Glancing back at Squall, she saw he now sat straight up. He nodded, obviously knowing what she was thinking. Rising to her feet, she began to run towards her sword, also in the direction of the dragon who was now turning around and coming straight for her. Gun shots from behind her slowed the dragon down as each bullet hit its scaly form. Silently thanking him for backing her up, she reached down and grabbed the handle of her beloved sword.

Her mind automatically remembered a skill she had learned several months ago as she raised her left arm in the air. It didn't take her long to realize her Ice Brand attack was ready. The ground beneath her went blue as ice shot up and surrounded her --only to disappear half a second later when she raised the sword in her right hand, spun around and charged at the fiend with amazing speed. The blade connected with the skull of the fiend and sent it flying backwards.

As it lay there, motionless, the warrior knew her attack had done a significant amount of damage, being that it was weak to ice. But what she didn't expect, was for the dragon to rise to its feet and turn to face her. Before she knew it, it was back up in the air, circling her. As it came back down toward her, she saw a strange look in its eyes. It didn't want to _hurt_ her…but looked like it…wanted to be gentle with her. It didn't have that angry look most fiends have, you know. A fiend's natural instinct is to survive and attack anything that threatens it and she _defiantly_ threatened it. If attacking it with an ice attack and nearly killing it wasn't enough to make her be a threat, she didn't know what _was_. It was as if someone had programmed it to…capture or rescue her.

She didn't even realize she had just been _standing_ there until someone tackled her to the ground. "Diamond Dust!" a familiar voice shouted. She didn't even bother to look up as the ground beneath her went cold. The sound of ice breaking then something or someone powering up an attack found its way to her ears. Before she even had time to look up, she felt someone extremely close to her, their arm over her --probably protecting her from the thousands of sharp pieces of ice that flew everywhere a second or two later.

As she felt the arm around her leave, she opened her eyes and twisted her body around to see in front of her. Instead, to her left, she saw Squall sitting there, but only broken ice on the ground in front of her. "What just happened?" She found herself asking the man beside her.

"I just saved your ass." He said rather harshly, Paine noticed. "What were you doing just _standing_ there? Did you not realize you had a _dragon_ coming toward you, about to kill you?"

"He wouldn't have hurt me." She was shocked at her own answer. _Where did that come from? I wasn't going to say that…_

"What do you mean he wouldn't have hurt you! He would have _killed_ you!" By the tone of his voice, she could tell he was angry with her. Like she cared.

"Did you notice how his claws weren't even pointed at me? His mouth was closed, and he showed no sign of harming me." She found it odd that she knew the dragon was a _male_, as it could have easily been a female. "Besides, he could have easily attacked me from the air using some kind of fire attack, so why didn't he? Because he didn't want to hurt me."

"But…why…?" He was obviously confused. Who could blame him? She was too. About the strange behavior of the dragon, and about the way she seemed to know more about this situation than she would have liked. "This is all so confusing…"

She looked up at him as he spoke. _There must be a reason to all of this. All I have to do is find out what it is. But how the hell do I do _that She rose to her feet, keeping her eyes on him. "We should go back to the restaurant."

"And why?"

"Because I never got my pancakes and apples," she said that with a smile, and in return, Squall smiled and even chuckled a little.


	8. Everything is Connected Somehow

****

A/N: Disclaimer at end of chapter. Hey, I have my reasons. And if you couldn't tell, I have grown fond of Emily Dickinson's poems/letters.

****

Chapter VIII

Everything is Connected Somehow

__

The difference between despair

And fear, is like the one

Between the instant of a wreck,

And when the wreck has been. **-Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

_Why is this happening?_ her mind asked, wanting an answer but knowing she wasn't going to get one any time soon. _First Paine, now Kilika…_

"Brother says that Celcius should be completely fixed soon." Rikku reported as she walked up the stairs to the top floor of the cabin. "I say it'll take them at least several hours to fix this thing."

"Oh. I thought you were helping too?" Yuna cocked her head to the side.

The Al Bhed shrugged and shook her head. "I thought I was too. Brother told me to check up on you to make sure you weren't hurt." She sat down beside Yuna and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You're fine, right? 'Cause I wanna give a good report."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Yuna sighed. "Why can't the Calm just stay? We brought it twice yet it keeps going away. Were we not meant to ever have the Eternal Calm?"

"Don't talk like that, Yunie!" Rikku stood and looked down at her. "We'll figure out what's going on and we'll find Paine and…um…Kilika."

"Of course we will. We lose things only to find them again. "Yuna stood, moving to stare out of the window. "Do you think that person really has Paine?"

"I really don't know." She answered, shaking her head. "But if they do, and when we find 'em, we'll give 'em a beatin' like they never had before, right, Yunie?" A smile appeared on her face.

Chuckling, Yuna said, "Right."

XxXxX

Gippal ran toward Youth League Headquarters, almost out of breath. _Late again, Gippal. I think you made a new world record,_ his conscience told him, sounding quite irritated.

As he burst through the doors to where Baralai and Nooj were seated, he quickly took a seat in one of the empty chairs at the table, hoping they wouldn't notice he was late.

"You look like you ran all the way here," Baralai said, half-jokingly.

"I did. Man, you don't think it's that long of a walk when you're ridin' a machina, but when you have to walk here by yourself, it's _then_ that you find out that you're farther from here than you thought." He put his feet up on the table and leaned back in the chair. "I'm here now so you can start the program."

Rolling his eyes, Baralai pulled out the ransom note and placed it on the table, a more serious look appeared on his face. "Whoever wrote this note, I'd say they are a child," he started, laying a hand on the paper, his eyes focused on the child-like handwriting. "Or-"

"Or they just really suck at writing neatly." Gippal put his hands behind his head.

"Exactly." Baralai smiled.

"Aside from checking each individual house in Spira, I can't think of any other way to find her." Nooj had finally decided to speak. "We don't know if they have her, and if they do, I'd say she's hurt from being thrown out of a window and into the ocean."

"I think we should do anything we can to find her." The Al Bhed rested his hands on the arms of the chair. _But what if she's-NO! Stop think' like that!_ He mentally slapped himself. He had to stop thinking like that.

"I doubt she's…dead…" Anyone could tell that Baralai had trouble getting the word _dead_ out of his mouth. "She's tough. I have this feeling that she's alive."

"And well," added Nooj.

"Yeah, I have that feeling too." Gippal sounded unsure, even for Gippal. A part of him was scared to even _think_ she could be hurt, or worse ¾ dead.

"Sirs!" One of the men in the Youth League ran into the room.

"Yes?" asked Nooj, turning slightly in his chair to see the man.

"This may sound weird, but…uh…"

"Zicd kad uh fedr ed." Gippal said, rather irritated. "Ruf faent luimt ed buccepmo pa?"

Baralai understood what Gippal had said and shot him a glare. He looked at the man who had just entered the room. "Please ignore him… Now, what is it that you wanted to say?"

Nodding, the man continued, "Kilika Island is gone, sirs." Getting gasps from the three, he continued to speak, "I know this sounds a little weird, but-"

"A _little_? You're talkin' 'bout an entire _island_ here! How can that be a _little_ weird?" Baralai kicked Gippal underneath the table as soon as the Al Bhed finished his sentence.

"He's just stressed right now. We all are." Baralai rubbed his eyes. "Kilika Island…gone? Are you sure?"

"Very sure, sir. Never been more sure in my life."

"That's pretty sure," said Gippal.

"Does Yuna know?" Nooj asked.

"Yes, sir. She's the one who told us about it."

"Thank you. You may leave now." Nooj shooed the man away. After hearing the door close, Nooj rubbed his head. "Why is this happening?"

"It's the storm."

Both Baralai and Nooj looked up at Gippal, confused looks on their faces. "What?" They asked in unison.

"Yeah, the storm." Gippal placed both feet firmly on the ground and began tapping his fingers against the arms of the chair. "What if…Paine missing and now Kilika gone, is connected…somehow… Ya know, like, what if the storm outside of Kilika was the same one that hit Celcius?"

"Impossible. The same exact storm can't do that; it's just not possible." Baralai pointed out.

"But this isn't a normal storm."

"Gippal's right. For a change." Nooj thought about what Gippal said.

"Heeeeeeey…"

"This storm isn't normal. It seems as if whatever it touches, disappears."

"Perhaps Kilika just sunk?" Baralai considered this, then shook his head. "No, I'm sure if it sunk, we would have heard about it _while_ it was sinking, not afterwards. It's not like an island takes only a few seconds to sink."

"If the storm's strong enough, possibly, but if this is the same storm, why didn't Celcius sink or disappear when it was hit?"

"Maybe Brother did something to it to make it withstand the force, or somethin'. I don't know." Gippal ran his hand through his hair. "Hate to say it, but, I've never been this confused in my life."

"I'd have to agree. This is all very confusing." Baralai sighed.

"Okay, so let me get this straight: the storm is why Paine and Kilika are now missing. So why send a ransom note if the storm is what made Paine disappear?" Nooj thought about this.

"Maybe they found her on a shore." Baralai suggested.

"Perhaps…but why want something as strange as us handing over the world? Why not gil?"

"I don't know, but whoever it is, they're a bit crazy in the head," said Gippal, tapping a finger against the side of this head.

"Crazy, yes, but not stupid."

All three men turned their heads to see where the female voice came from. They got to their feet, hands on the weapons by their sides.

"Who are you?" demanded Gippal.

Before them stood a girl in an old Victorian style kind of black and white dress. Her legs were covered by white tights and her feet black shoes. The long sleeves of her dress ended in ruffles at her wrists. Her shoulder-length blonde hair swayed a little as she moved toward them a step or two. "Everything is connected."

"Answer my question: who. Are. You?" Gippal didn't know whether or not this girl was any danger, but he didn't want to take that chance; he kept his hand on the handle of his gun.

Closing her very blue eyes and shaking her head, she spoke, "My name is not important right now. What is important is the fact that Paine and Kilika are missing." She reopened her eyes and looked at Gippal, seeming not to care that there were two other people in the room. "Or do you not care about her as much as I think you do?" Now she looked at Baralai. "Your friend is in danger. She cannot handle this alone."

"Handle what alone?" Nooj asked the strange girl.

Looking at Nooj, she answered, "Handle what is going to happen if we don't find her before she gets to her."

"Who's going to get to her?" Baralai now asked, worry in his voice.

"A danger she cannot face alone."

"Can't you just give us a straight freakin' answer!"

"Gippal, calm down," The Praetor stared at the Al Bhed, then looked back at the girl. "Please, tell us exactly who you are talking about."

The girl ignored Baralai and walked toward Gippal, stopping when she was just a few inches away from him. "Do you care about her?"

"Yes." Gippal lowered his eye.

"Would you do anything to save her?"

"Yes."

"Even risk your own life?"

"Yes, of course."

"What about you, Praetor, or even you?" The girl looked at Baralai first, then at Nooj. Getting the same response from both, she smiled. "If only your love for her could save her, then she would have nothing to worry about." The smile disappeared. "But that will not be enough. What you are going to go up against is more than any one of you can handle."

"Says you!" Gippal was getting impatient with this girl. "We can handle anythin' to save Paine! Heck, we helped defeat Vegnagun."

"So what if this new enemy is more deadly than Vegnagun? What would you do if that was true?"

"Gelg edc ycc!" Gippal said, sounding very confident.

She shook her head, blonde hair gently swaying with the movement of her head. "You don't even know what you are going up against."

"Then perhaps you could tell us." Baralai tried to not sound impatient, unlike his Al Bhed friend.

"That I cannot do."

"And why not? I don't see any harm in giving us information about this new enemy." Nooj was at least able to not sound impatient.

"You don't understand." She shook her head once more. "Paine is in the middle of something not even I would want to be in. She could easily get killed-"

"Paine's stronger than you think." Nooj sat down, guessing that this would take a while.

"Yes, I know, but this enemy could…this enemy is a tricky one. One not to fool around with." The girl tried to explain without giving away too much information.

"So, practically, you know where Paine is, right?"

The girl looked up at the Al Bhed as he said this and nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Then how do we know you aren't the enemy? Maybe _you're_ the one that kidnapped Paine-"

"She was not kidnapped."

"What?" The three guys stared at her, confused.

"She was- It is difficult to explain to those who would not understand." Now the girl looked like she was the one getting impatient. "But you must trust me, even though that may be a very difficult thing to do."

"You know where Paine is, yet you won't tell us. Why?" Nooj stared at her, wishing she'd tell them more about this situation.

"Even if I tell you, you cannot go to her. Not through me, anyway," she lowered her eyes, as if she was sorry that she couldn't take them to where they wanted to go.

"You can't take us? All you have to do is-"

The girl interrupted Gippal, blue eyes staring into his green one. "I can tell you where your beloved friend is, but I cannot take you there. How hard is that to understand? I do not have the _power_ to take you _all_ there, much less only one of you." Her voice sounded sorry, but her face showed no emotion.

Gippal scratched the back of his head. "Uh, how hard could it possibly be?"

"Very hard."

"Is Paine where Kilika is?"

The girl turned her head to look at Baralai, slightly shocked by his question, didn't show it. "Yes, she is."

"Where exactly is this place?"

"Far, far away. In a place that you cannot get to without some serious help." Crossing her arms, she stared at the Praetor. "Like I said before: I cannot help you with that. I can only tell you that she is in danger and that you cannot help her from here."

"Bringer of bad news, aren't ya?" Receiving a glare from the girl, the Al Bhed sat back down and propped his feet up on the table. "So…we can't help her, we can't see her, we can't speak to her, so how do we know you're tellin' the truth?"

"You just have to trust me."

"Gonna be hard."

Nooj thought hard about what the girl had said, his fingers absently tapping against the table. "Who can help us?"

"Someone you don't want to ask for help."

"We're screwed either way, right?" Gippal eyed the girl, who nodded. "Great." His eye widened as he remembered something. "That note. Does that person have her like they said they did?"

"Note?"

"Oh, out of everything else you _do_ know, you don't know about the note?" Being slightly sarcastic, Gippal rolled his eye. "It's right there," he jerked his thumb in the direction of the note, which was still on the table near Baralai.

"May I?" She put her hand out slightly, and Baralai kindly handed her the paper, eyes watching her as she read it. Eyes narrowing, she had a slightly irritated look on her face. "She's toying with you. This note," she raised the note. "it lies."

"What?" All three looked at her, even more confused than they were before, if that was possible.

"I said: it lies. She doesn't have her; right now, Paine is as safe as she'll ever be, among people."

"What…people?" Baralai asked, curious.

"People who I think will protect her. She has a good bodyguard, if you would call him that." The girl looked like she was remembering, possibly about whomever Paine was with.

"Him? It's a him?" Both Gippal and Baralai asked.

"Yes, it's a him. You have no need to worry. He will hopefully protect her with his life."

"_Hopefully_?"

"Hopefully. I'm not saying he'll kill her, just…I'm still learning about this group that she's with." She thought about each word she would say, trying not to say too much or confuse anyone, if she hadn't done so already.

"Where is she and who is this group? I think we deserve to know everything you know about this." Nooj was tired of wasting precious time --they couldn't exactly trust this girl, so they didn't know if Paine was truly all right or not, but this was really all they had to go on…

"In a place called Gala. The group she's with are trained very well; you could call them soldiers, I suppose. They've fought and defeated an enemy --the same exact enemy, actually-- like her a couple times before actually fighting the witch herself."

"Where's this…Gala…? I haven't ever heard of a place like it before." Baralai seemed rather interested in this new place.

"It is the name of another world. One…different than this one. I don't think you will be going to this world any time soon, so I don't see why you would need information on it, right now, anyway."

"Does 'curious' ring a bell?"

She glared at Gippal, and said, "I'll tell you later. Process the information I already told you first."

****

Disclaimer: I only own the girl and the plot. That's all.

Al Bhed Translation:

"Zicd kad uh fedr ed." --Just get on with it.

"Ruf faent luimt ed buccepmo pa?" --How weird could it possibly be?


	9. The Illness No Eye Can See

crazycutie2 and Platonic1: I don't know. I haven't really decided on pairings yet, though, I am a huge fan of Gippaine, I don't know if it'll turn out to be one. But I doubt it'll end up Squaine --is that what you would call it? Squaine... Sounds...weird...funky... Uh, anyway...don't know about pairings yet, but I hope to figure them out soon. Maybe if you ask a bit later on I'll be able to tell ya ;) Or you can just wait and find out.

Now, for everyone: Sorry I updated so late. This chapter has been done for a while now, as have the others, I just wanted to wait until I got more reviews for the previous chapter before I posted. But oh well. I got impatient. But as long as I get 5 or more reviews, I will update. So, keep that in mind, y'all! (My luck and I don't and I update anyway...)

Disclaimer: Only the plot and the strange girl who seems to know everything belongs to me.

Chapter IX

The Illness No Eye Can See

Which question shall I clutch-  
What answer wrest from thee  
Before thou dost exude away  
In the recallless sea? **-Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

Rinoa Heartilly knocked on one of the huge double doors leading to the Headmaster's room. "Um, may I come in?"

"Yes, yes, please do," answered Cid.

She stepped inside and looked around, seeing Edea sitting in the chair in front of the desk. "Sorry to disturb you."

"No worries, dear. What do you need?" Edea turned her head to look back at her.

"I was wondering if I could speak to you, Edea."

"Sure."

Walking up to the two, Rinoa let her hands drop by her sides. "It's about Paine." Both Edea and Cid looked at each other. "I have this strange feeling about her."

Getting a chuckle from Edea, she looked up as the woman spoke. "It's only the sorceress in you. I have the same feeling except I know what mine means."

"Then what does it mean? Is she bad?" Rinoa asked quickly.

"You cannot tell the others. They are not ready to know, but…" Edea looked at Cid before looking back at her. "Paine is not from this world. I have yet to figure out _why_ she is here, but I have a feeling that she's here for a reason."

The young woman was indeed shocked. "From…another world? How is that possible?"

"I don't know. We don't have enough information, yet, and Paine more than likely doesn't know why she's here."

Cid decided to join in the conversation. "That's why we've got Squall watching her. I trust him enough to keep an eye on her --just in case."

"But if she's not dangerous to us, why must Squall watch her?" Rinoa asked, suddenly very curious.

"Because we don't know if others want her. If whomever brought her here wants to get their hands on her, it's best to have Squall be there by her side." Cid explained.

XxXxX

Selphie skipped down the hall, humming. Not too long ago she had finished her breakfast and was headed in no particular direction. She was just…bored. Everything had been quiet ever since Ultimecia was defeated. Things had defiantly got interesting when the woman Paine showed up. Especially between her and Seifer.

Word was she actually _hit_ Seifer Almasy. Several of the kids who watched at a distance said it was a sight to see. Selphie had wanted to see it, but she had just been waking up at the time. Daydreaming more than she was paying attention to where she walked, she bumped into someone and fell backwards on her butt. "Heeey… That hurt." Looking up, she saw the man in the trench coat. "Hey, Seifer!"

"Why don't you watch where you're walkin', kid?"

He didn't even bother to help her up! _What a meanie!_ She made a face as she stood up, dusting herself off. "Kid? I'm not a kid! And you _could_ be a bit nicer, ya know!"

Seifer ignored her and walked by her.

"Have you seen Squall?" She suddenly asked.

Without turning around, he answered her while he continued walking. "Yeah. He went with Paine." He mumbled, making it hard for Selphie to hear what he said.

"Oh? Where to?"

"I don't know! Why don't you just go ask someone else and leave me the hell alone!"

"Fine then! I will." Sticking her tongue out at the man's back, she turned and skipped off.

Arriving at a dorm shortly later, Selphie knocked on the door. "Heeeeelllllloooooo? It's meee, Selphie!"

"Hold on a second!" came a female voice.

She rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited patiently. The door opened and Quistis Trepe stood in front of her. "Please, come in." She motioned for Selphie to come in. Selphie did so, and waited for her to shut the door to start talking.

"You wanted to talk to Squall, riiight?"

"Yes. Do you know where he is? I was going to go by his dorm-"

"He ain't there."

"Oh. Then where?"

"He left with Paine a little while ago. I don't know where they went, but Headmaster Cid should know." Selphie put her hands behind her back as she watched Quistis get some shoes on. "Hope ya don't mind me comin' too. I'm bored."

"I don't mind at all."

After leaving Quistis' dorm, the girls headed toward the elevator to go speak to Cid. As they stepped off the elevator, Selphie ran into Cid's office, Quistis behind her. "Hey, Cid. Gotta couple-" She was cut off when she saw Rinoa there. "-questions… Um, hey, Rinoa."

"Hi." Rinoa waved.

"I'm sorry. Are we disturbing you?" Quistis asked, looking back and forth between Edea and Rinoa.

"No, of course not! What were your questions?" Cid looked at Selphie, then Quistis.

"Quisty here wanted to know where Squall was. Seifer told us that he went somewhere with Paine, but we didn't know where." Selphie quickly explained.

"They went to Deling for breakfast. As a matter of fact, they should be back pretty soon." The Headmaster adjusted the glasses on his face. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah. Zell wants to know when you'll get more hot dogs for the café."

XxXxX

"You need to go to the infirmary," said Squall as they walked into the lobby of Balamb Garden.

Raising an eyebrow, Paine asked, "Why? I feel fine."

"Because you almost fainted back there in Deling. That's not normal, just in case you didn't know." A hint of sarcasm was in his voice.

"For the last time: I feel fine."

"That's what they all say." Rubbing his forehead, he turned at the sound of running footsteps on tile.

"Yo, Squall!" It was Zell. "Where ya been?"

"Treating Paine to a nice breakfast." He glanced over at Paine before looking back at Zell. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Escort Paine to the infirmary and make sure Dr. Kadowaki sees her. I have to go speak with Cid."

"I knew I should've asked before I said sure…" Zell muttered, looking over Squall at Paine. By the look on his face, Squall could tell he was unsure of what to do. "She won't bite. Will you?" He looked back at Paine, getting a shrug from her.

"I don't know. Depends." The woman answered.

"Just-" Squall sighed, realizing that there was no point. "I'll be back soon. Make sure she sees Dr. Kadowaki, Zell." He walked off.

"Right…" Zell looked at Paine, and she stared at him, a smirk on her face.

XxXxX

"Cid-" As he walked in, he saw Quistis, Rinoa, Edea, and even Selphie in his office. "What's going on?"

"Just talking." Edea headed for the exit, motioning for Selphie, Rinoa, and Quistis to follow her. "We'll leave you two alone to talk."

"Squall, I need to speak with you later," Quistis whispered to him as she followed the other three out of the room. Squall nodded to let her know he heard her.

"How was the trip?"

"A disaster; though, we did manage to eat our food." Squall sat down in a chair.

"Disaster? How so?"

"Paine had almost passed out before we got our food, and then a Ruby Dragon threatened to attack Deling. After Paine said she was all right, we fought the dragon --Paine doing most of the attacking." He continued, "She attacked it with some kind of special attack, and when she was through, I finished it off with Shiva." He reminded himself to ask Paine about that attack later on… Quickly remembering what Paine had said, he looked at Cid directly. "The strange thing is, the dragon wouldn't…hurt Paine."

"What?" Cid was obviously as confused as he was.

"Paine said that it wouldn't have hurt her and I think she was right. When I thought back to how the dragon acted, I _knew_ she was right. The dragon did _not_ want to hurt her. As I was summoning Shiva, the dragon looked at me and the anger returned in its eyes and it prepared itself for battle. It didn't do that with Paine."

"So in short, it wanted to kill you, but didn't want to kill Paine?" Getting a nod from Leonhart, Cid let out a soft sigh. "Great. More problems."

"More problems?" Squall looked confused. "What other problems are there?"

"All will be explained later. Where is she now?"

"Hopefully in the infirmary." He answered, hoping that Paine had went to the infirmary with no problems. He felt sorry for Zell if she didn't.

XxXxX

"So…you don't know what's wrong with me?" Paine asked, watching Dr. Kadowaki as she waited for an answer.

"No, sorry, sure don't. Which is what bugs me. There's always a reason why someone vomits, has headaches, feels dizzy, all the things you feel, but I just haven't found it yet. According to every piece of equipment I have here: you're a healthy young woman." Moving over to her desk to sit down, she glanced back at Paine. "Let me check these results again. Just to make sure I didn't miss anything."

Paine nodded as the doctor sat down, looking over some papers. _Maybe it's a side effect to world traveling?_ That could be it, but she didn't know. It's not like she traveled to different worlds often.

Having time to think about things, she sat more comfortably on the bed, her back up against the wall. _I wonder how things are back in Spira? I can't exactly get in touch with them… They've probably already noticed I'm gone. The guys wouldn't handle that well. Hell, no one would. _I_ didn't handle it well._

"Hello, Squall. I'm guessing you're here to see your guest. She's right in there," she heard Dr. Kadowaki say, and saw her point in her direction.

Squall Leonhart walked towards her and sat down in the chair beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. You don't have to worry so much about me, you know. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"Your condition isn't normal. And the fact that the dragon wouldn't hurt you, that's not normal either."

"I didn't think it was." She closed her eyes. _Why worry so much about someone you don't even know?_

"There's no mistakes. You're healthy." Dr. Kadowaki reported as she came over to stand by the bed. She put her hands on her hips. "I don't understand. Well, if you ever feel sick again, come straight here."

"Understood." Slightly nodding her head, she watched the doctor walk away, leaving her and Squall alone. It was quiet for a while --at least until Squall spoke up.

"How-" Shaking his head, he said, "never mind."

"What?"

"I was going to ask-"

"Squall, may I-" Quistis entered the room. "Oh… I'm sorry." She looked at Paine. "I can come back later.

"No, that's okay. I was just leaving anyway." Looking at Paine, he stood up and turned to face Quistis. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to ask you a question or two."

He nodded and followed Quistis out of the room. Paine watched them leave, curious as to what Squall was going to ask.

XxXxX

After taking one last glance at the Infirmary, Squall looked at Quistis. "Ask away."

"Did you find out where she lived?"

"No, I didn't."

"Well, I was thinking, what if we asked General Caraway to help us? He may know everyone who used to live there, and who still does." Quistis looked at him. "But I don't think we'll find much out about her. I have this feeling that…she's not telling us the truth."

"I don't blame her. She doesn't exactly trust us, you know." He shrugged, understanding the warrior completely.

"How do we get her to trust us?" She asked, crossing her arms.

He shook his head. "I don't know. Give her time. Maybe time is all she needs to trust _someone_ here."

"Rinoa."

"What? Rinoa?"

"Yes, Rinoa. No offence, but she's more likely to get information out of Paine than we are. She got you to open up some, didn't she?" Quistis smiled.

"Where is Rinoa, anyway?"

"She may still be talking to Edea, but I don't know where exactly she is. When we left Cid's office, we split up."

"Well…I have to check on Zell, so I can look for her, too."

"Zell? Why?" asked Trepe.

"Because he was supposed to escort Paine to the infirmary. I haven't seen him since." Squall didn't look too worried, probably because he had a feeling the hyperactive young man was fine.

"He's fine. Look," Quistis pointed behind him. When he looked, he saw Zell walking their way.

"Heeey." Zell stopped a foot away from them.

"Looks like she didn't bite you," Squall said, a smile appearing on his face.

"Nah, sure didn't. Lucky for me she went quietly. We saw _Seifer_ on the way." Zell didn't look angry as he said his name this time. He actually looked…happy, for once. "I liked the look Paine gave him. Seifer didn't, though. Amusing. You shoulda been there, man. A sight to see."

"That's okay. I was there when she hit him this morning."

"Whoa! She _hit_ him! I'm gonna hafta give her some flowers, or somethin'."

Squall chuckled. "She's in the infirmary if you want to."

"Oh, yes, what's wrong with her? She's been in there a couple times." Quistis had a worried look on her face. "And both times in the last couple days. Is she all right?"

He shook his head, confused about the woman's condition. "I hope so. Dr. Kadowaki doesn't know what's wrong with her. That's what I'm worried about." Squall was truly worried about Paine.

"Hopefully it's nothin' bad. I like her," Zell smiled. "She kicked Seifer's ass. Not that that's a hard thing to do, but…"

"I think her and Seifer will get along just fine." That smile came back as Squall said that.


	10. One Down, Two to Go

A/N: Disclaimer at end of chapter. I'm sure you know why, right?

****

Chapter X

One down, Two to Go

Much madness is divinest sense  
To a discerning eye;  
Much sense the starkest madness.  
'T is the majority  
In this, as all, prevails.  
Assent, and you are sane;  
Demur, -you're straightway dangerous  
And handled with a chain. **-Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

He walked even steps toward the place where the Praetor stayed: that huge building in the middle of the city, Bevelle. His medium, spiky black hair shimmered slightly as the light from the sun hit him. Black clothing covered his body; the sleeveless shirt he wore had strange red markings on the front and back, while his pants had the same markings on the sides. The black boots on his feet made no sound at all as he continued his way to the front doors of the building.

"Halt! Who goes there?" asked one of the two guards on either side of the double doors.

"I come to see the Praetor. I have an important matter that I must discuss with him." The man's voice suited his muscular frame.

"We cannot allow you to speak with him." the same guard said, not willing to tell the man that the Praetor wasn't even here.

"I _must_ speak with him. Tell him this. Now." He smirked, keeping his gray eyes focused on that guard.

"Yes, I will tell him." The guard saluted, then ran inside to where the CommSphere was being kept.

After a few moments, the guard came back outside. "He is on his way, sir. Please, make yourself comfortable," he held the door open and gestured inside.

"I think I will." The man smiled a rather _evil_ smile as he walked past the guards and inside the building.

XxXxX

"You'll be okay, right?" Gippal asked Baralai for the second time after that guard asked him to come back to Bevelle for an important matter.

"I'll be _fine_, Gippal." Baralai reassured his friend, for the second time.

"Okay, okay." The Al Bhed watched the Praetor leave after saying goodbye and that he would be back as soon as possible.

The girl, on the other hand, didn't pay much attention to him. She looked like she was thinking about something.

"Helloooooooo? Anyone in there?" Gippal stood right next to the girl and waved his hand in front of her face until she blinked. Now she looked irritated.

"Yes?"

"I was just makin' sure you were still with us."

"Sit down, Gippal. We still have a lot to talk about," Nooj ordered, looking sternly at the girl.

Gippal muttered 'bossy', but sat down anyway, wanting to get on with this _meeting_.

XxXxX

Baralai entered the building after being greeted by the two guards at the doors. The first step he took inside, he saw a strange man in there. As he looked around, he saw that no one else was in here. "Who are you?" He demanded, not feeling exactly safe.

"I want to speak to you about a subject I think you'll find quite interesting."

He eyed the man suspiciously as he took a few steps forward. "And what might that be?"

"Paine."

Letting out a gasp, he asked, "Paine? What do you know about Paine?" _Think, Baralai, think. You got all the information you could possible get from that girl, right? There's no way he could-_

"I can help you get to her. She needs her friends. In the condition she's in, I wouldn't blame her for wanting someone there beside her."

"Condition? But I was told that she was-" Baralai quickly realized what he was saying. There was no way that this man could now about that girl. No _way_.

"She was what? All right? Fine? Not hurt? Safe, even?" He chuckled. "Who told you a silly thing like _that_? I've seen her myself. She's not in good condition."

"How bad is she hurt?" Baralai knew he couldn't trust him, but he couldn't exactly trust what the girl said either, now could he? Besides, it wouldn't hurt to find out what he knows and compare it to what the girl said.

"Bad. She's lucky she's not in a coma. A group of people found her and have been torturing her ever since, trying to get information out of her. They think she's working for the enemy."

This hurt Baralai. How could someone do that to _Paine_? _He may be lying. Which should I believe? The girl who said she's okay, or the man who says she's badly hurt?_ The girl's sounded better, but something about the man told him he wasn't lying. It was like he _wanted_ him to believe him… Like he was-

"Do you want to save her?"

"Yes." He answered, not realizing what he was saying, though, it was true. He _did_ want to save her, but should he trust him?

"If you love her, let me help you. I know how to get you to her."

Baralai wanted to say 'yes'. He _wanted_ to save Paine. But something told him not to trust this strange man; yet…he couldn't help but wonder if he was right. There was a chance that Paine could seriously be hurt and if he said 'no' and that he didn't believe him, what if the man _was_ right? Baralai couldn't live with the guilt that he would feel if he chose that option and Paine _died_ because of him.

"Do you want to see her?"

This question surprised Baralai; how fast he replied surprised him even more. "Yes."

"I warn you: what you see won't be pretty."

Nodding, he walked toward the man. He wanted to see Paine, he wanted to make sure she _was_ all right. The man looked at him. "What you will see in a few moment is unfortunately true. Are you sure you want to see her?" Getting another nod from the Praetor, he moved his arm out in front of him and brought it out to the right; at the same time, the room around them disappeared. Now they stood on cold, stone floor, surrounded by stone walls.

The temperature of the small room made Baralai shiver. But what he saw in front of him, a few feet away, shocked him. His eyes were wide and jaw dropped, completely shocked. "Paine!" Before he could run over to the badly hurt warrior, the man grabbed his arm, stopping him from taking a step forward.

"She cannot see nor hear you." He informed him.

"Paine…" Still in shock, all he could do was mutter the woman's name.

Paine, the woman he cared so much for, was chained up by her ankles and wrists. Her body was bruised, her hair a mess and red-tinted from what looked like blood. He could tell she was breathing by the way her chest went up and down, though, she was also having a hard time breathing. He could hear her trying to breathe as best as she could.

Now that he paid closer attention, he saw what kept her from breathing normal: a collar that was tight around her neck. Attached to the collar was a short strand of metal links, the end of that strand being connected --if not nailed-- into the wall. She could barely lift her head up without risking the possibility of choking herself.

It hurt Baralai to even look at her, so he turned his head away, his eyes closed. "I told you it wouldn't be pretty, now didn't I?" The man beside him sounded like he almost _enjoyed_ seeing her like this.

Anger filled Baralai's voice as he spoke. "Isn't there some way you can turn this thing off?" He asked, referring to whatever the man used to make him see…this…

"Yes."

"Then turn it off!" He raised his voice --something he didn't do often.

"Of course." With a wave of his hand, the horrible image disappeared and they were back in Bevelle.

Baralai felt sick, angry, sad, worried, and hurt all at the same time. How could someone do that to Paine? Whoever they were, they had a cold, black, empty heart --or were heartless all together. He could spit out an entire row of curses if he hadn't been so speechless right now. "Horrible, isn't it?" He heard the man say. "That's what they've done to her. Just think: they can do worse. And there's a man there that's grown fond of her, if you know what I mean." You could tell there was a smile on his face by the way he spoke. "He can do awful things to her, like-"

"Enough!" screamed Baralai, close to tears. He felt like he had been stabbed in the gut. "Why are you doing this?"

"You wanted to see her, did you not?"

"Yes, but I didn't mean for you to give me a _description_ of what else they can do to her!" He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't _stand_ seeing Paine in that condition. "What can I do to help her?" He turned and looked at him.

"Tell me where your friends are so I can tell them the horrid news."

"Don't show them what I saw…"

"Don't worry; I won't."

"Mushroom Rock Road, inside Youth League Headquarters. Tell them I sent you and they'll listen." Baralai softly said. He couldn't seem to get that nightmare out of his head.

"Understood." The man turned and started to walk away.

**_DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!_** The female voice was so loud in his head that he started hearing ringing sounds nearly a half a second later. Not realizing what he was doing --exactly-- Baralai turned around to face the man, who was walking toward the exit. It was like time slowed down as he did so.

"You…_demon_!"

Before Baralai could even realize what he said, the man before him had turned around completely to face him. His face no longer human --nor was he.

The Praetor only had time to calculate that the man was no longer human as he flew towards him with amazing speed; giant wings flapped hard and fast. Two horns poked out of the top of his head and he had a mouthful of extremely sharp teeth.

This was all Baralai had time to see as he fell backwards on his back as the…_thing_ hit him full force. His head bounced off the ground and he blacked out.

XxXxX

"Praetor!"

_Huh?_ Baralai moved his hand to his head, only to feel warm, wet liquid beneath his fingers.

"Praetor!"

He opened his eyes slowly and saw a man --possibly a New Yevon-- leaned over him, worry covered his face.

"Praetor! You're alive!"  
_  
Alive…Yes, of course I am,_ he wanted to say, but didn't.

"We must get you out of here --and quickly!" He stumbled a bit as the man helped him up.

"Why?" He asked, trying to remember how he ended up on the ground in the first place.

"Bevelle is under attack!" shrieked the man.

Baralai flinched. "Please, don't yell. I still hear ringing sounds." Once he said that, he remembered what had happened, but had to put that aside and work with the problem at hand…even if those images of Paine would haunt him forever. "What is attacking us?"

"Machina!"

_Enough with the yelling…_ He understood he was frightened, but did he have to yell when he was right next to his ear?

"Praetor, you cannot fight them!" The man shrieked as Baralai walked toward the exit.

"Give me my weapon," he ordered, holding out his hand. A moment later, he walked outside, weapon in hand, eyes scanning the city for the intruders.

It didn't take him long to find one of the intruders. I mean, the machina practically ran at him.

He spun his spear around, stabbing it into the head of the machina a second later. As that one fell to the ground in pieces, a much bigger one --a Pop Fry-- came at him. The three-legged machina was unusually fast for its large size. And before it could _crush_ him, he jumped to the right, quickly dodging it. He hit it multiple times with his weapon, and seemed to be doing little damage --if any at all.

The Pop Fry was powering up an attack, so Baralai had to think fast. Doing just that, he jumped up into the air and stabbed the end of his spear right down into what he guessed was where the main computer was, using every last bit of strength he had left in his arms.

Guessing right, the machina began to shoot out electricity, causing Baralai to stumble backwards. After a couple seconds of light shows, the Pop Fry fell down into pieces. He looked around, seeing many more pieces of machina around the city, but no people. Except one. As he turned around to face the building he just came out of, he saw the man walk out. "Where is everyone?" He asked him.

"They-they evacuated, Praetor, you should do the same," the man answered, obviously caring for the Praetor's safety.

"I will. Report to Youth League HQ and tell them we've been attacked. Understood?"

"Yes," the man bowed and quickly ran off.

Baralai watched him leave to make sure he made it out safely. Thunder boomed above, and the sky lit up by lightning. Looking up, he found that a storm had arrived unusually fast, too fast for comfort. "This…can't be good…" The first thing that came to his mind was the storm that made both Paine and Kilika disappear. Paine had went to another world, but he didn't know what happened to the people on Kilika Island… He looked toward the exit and found an impossible amount of machina blocking the way out. _What a coincidence… _Quickly running back inside the main building, he tripped halfway inside. Finding himself not being able to move his legs, he looked down, only to find himself gasping. Green vines had wrapped around his legs tightly, and they only got tighter the more he struggled to get free.

He tried to reach his weapon which had been thrown a couple feet away from him when he had fallen. Failing to do so the first try, he tried to stretch his arm a little farther, wincing as pain went through his arm and legs. The vines wrapped around his legs tighter. More vines came out of the ground and held his arms and torso down. He continued to struggle, but this only made another vine wrap around his neck, causing his vision to blur because of lack of air.

He stopped himself from struggling. The vine around his neck loosened a bit, but not by much --only enough not to make it feel like he was going to die from lack of air.

The thunder outside got much louder, making the builder shake as if in fear. Baralai, not knowing what to do, just closed his eyes. He wasn't one to give up easily, but look at the situation he was in now: held down by unusually strong vines while the deadly storm was probably right over top of Bevelle at this very moment.

What was he to do except lie there and wait for his doom? He wasn't able to move, so he didn't have _any_ options at all. He tried to steady his breathing, but it wasn't an easy thing to do. He sighed slightly, the sound of heavy rain on the roof above was all that he could hear……

XxXxX

Nearly an hour later……

"I hope all is all right," said Nooj, quite worried.

"I know Baralai, and this isn't like him. If it was goin' to take him a while, he would have told us through the CommSphere, right?"

Looking at Gippal, Nooj answered, "Yes, which makes me even more worried."

"We have ourselves another 'Bringer of Bad News'," the voice of the girl sounded surprisingly calm.

"Huh?" As soon as Gippal spoke, the doors swung open and a frightened looking New Yevon man ran into the room.

"What's the problem?" Nooj asked the man.

"Bevelle was…under attack…" he answered, voice shaky.

"What! What attacked it?"

The man glared at Gippal. "Don't pretend you don't know, Al Bhed. It was your filthy machina that attacked Bevelle."

"And you think _I_ had something to do with it?" Gippal looked at the man. "Why would I attack Bevelle?"

"An Al Bhed doesn't need reason to attack Bevelle. But I say you attacked out of hate."

Before Gippal could respond, Nooj spoke up, tired of this man blaming his Al Bhed friend for this. "Let's not point fingers. I'm sure Gippal did not order an attack on Bevelle. There's probably a good explanation for _why_ the machina attacked Bevelle."

"Yes! _He_ wanted to _kill_ the Praetor!"

"What! I would _never_ hurt, much less _kill_, Baralai!" Gippal raised his voice slightly.

"Where is Baralai?" asked Nooj, directing that question at the man.

"I don't know. He was in Bevelle the last time I saw him. But you won't find him even if you looked around all of Spira."

"And why is that?" Nooj placed his elbows on the table.

"Because a storm came and then Bevelle disappeared." They both should have expected it, but the words still hurt. Neither of them knew what happened to Kilika, so what if when the towns disappeared, they disappeared for _good_?

Nooj looked over at the girl, but directed his order toward the New Yevon man. "Leave, now. We need to discuss something privately."

Disclaimer: Ah, the good ol' disclaimer. Well, here it is: I only own the mystery guy, the mystery girl, and the plot.


	11. Dreams, Reality, Are They Connected?

****

Disclaimer: I only own mystery man, mystery girl, and the plot. That is all. For now.

****

Chapter XI

Dreams, Reality…Are They Connected?

_How lonely this world is growing,  
Something so desolate creeps over the spirit  
And we don't know its name,  
And it won't go away..._** -Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

_The dark waves of the ocean tossed and turned, threatening to swallow anyone or anything in its waters. There was an island north of the storm, in the exact direction that the deadly storm was headed in. The small island's only town was busy with people that weren't even aware of what their future would become after the storm was over. A massive wave rose up from the ocean, rising up much higher than the small island it wanted to consume. As the wave towered above the island, several screams could be heard……_

_You kan't stop me. I _**always**_ get my way._

Paine shot up in her bed, her breathing heavy. Wiping the sweat from her face with one hand, she looked at the clock machina on the nightstand beside her bed. _5:30 AM_. She let out a soft sigh. _Why would I be dreaming about the storm and Kilika? Is the storm going to- No. Not possible…right?_ Her legs swung over the side of the bed, feet on the floor. She had a feeling she wasn't going to go back to sleep for a while. Outside her window, she could see that it was raining extremely hard. The thunderstorm was complete with lightning and all.

Thinking about what she could do, she tried to remember what time the cafeteria started serving food. It's not like she was hungry, she just wanted to stay awake. Two words popped in her head: Training Center. A few battles would keep her wide awake. She hoped.

It didn't take her long to get ready and head toward the Training Center. As she walked, the only sound she heard was her heels on the tile. No one else other than her were up. This made things better: peace and quiet, which is what she liked most.

She scanned the area of the Training Center, looking for a good fiend to fight. Although she knew that it was possible that most of the fiends here could be much different than the ones she fought on Spira, she didn't particularly care because that made the fight a lot more interesting --_if_ the fiend lasted more than two minutes in battle with her.

The large, green, ugly fiend caught her eye as it came toward her. It had four "tentacles" with what looked like small red head at the end of each one. The fiend waddled on multiple skinny legs and just won the "Ugly Reward" in Paine's opinion. Though, she's seen worse in Spira, so far this was the ugliest fiend she had seen in this world.

Guessing it was a grass type by just looking at it, she had thought about using her Flametongue attack. Either she could end it fast or take her time. Well, one thing was certain: she couldn't just stand around as the thing swung one of those tentacles at her. Dodging, she now stood behind it as she powered up her Flametongue.

She slashed her sword down at the fiend as fire engulfed it. As its crispy body fell over, she sighed, muttering, "Not even a minute." Now she wished for something stronger…and when she saw that large fiend several yards away, she smirked.

The fiend was huge: standing on its two legs, it was extremely taller than her. Black and red scales covered its entire body. She instantly knew this was going to be a challenge as she watched its massive mouth chow down on a dead fiend that had recently been killed.

That smirk stayed glued on her face as she tightened the grip on the handle of her sword. If things got a little tough, she could always go Full Throttle on its ass or back off. Like she was going to back off…but hey, things might get tough. Now all she had to do was get its attention, which wasn't a hard thing to do…especially when the fiend finished its meal and looked toward her with a hungry look in its eyes.

Her own eyes searched for a possible weak spot. There appeared to be none, and she had a hard time guessing what element it could be. Possibly fire or normal, but she couldn't be certain. All she knew was that it _had_ to have a weakness. And she had to find it fast because the fiend was coming her way faster than expected.

She jumped out to the right, landing on her feet, but before she could react, she was off her feet and flat on her back. Making a mental note to keep a closer eye on that tail, she rose to her feet, hand grabbed her sword. As the tail was coming her way again, she jumped up and over it. When her feet was planted firmly on the ground again, she jumped up once more and landed on top of the fiend's head when it tried to eat her, then she was flung off the fiend and was headed toward a tree. Though, she never got time to greet the tree with her side because that gigantic tail came out of nowhere and went up against her; this time, flinging her into a steel wall, back first.

As pain rushed through her entire body, she made another little, important mental note: STAY. AWAY. FROM. BIG. DINO-FIEND.She now wanted to go Full Throttle, but didn't have the chance to when she heard the sound of an ice attack, heavy footsteps running off in the other direction, and that sickening laugh that sounded so familiar.

"Looks like I just saved your ass."

Paine opened her eyes only to see that smirk on that green-eyed face. "I didn't ask you to save me, mama's boy."

The movement was quick when he jabbed her in her extremely sore --if not a few broken-- ribs. "I'd watch what you say, sweetheart. If you haven't noticed, I'm not the one hurt."

"You're such an ass, you know that, right?"

"Yes, I know." He seemed to be studying her.

_If he touches me in any way, I swear I'll-_ She was shocked when he actually _did_ touch her, but not in the way she expected. His arm went around her waist and pulled her gently to her feet. He was strangely careful not to further harm her side as he helped her stand.

"Don't you _dare_ tell anyone about this." He said, voice low but showed no sign of anger. As they started walking toward the exit, she looked up at him.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to ask questions?"

"It's not like you're known to help the wounded."

Chuckling, he spoke, "You're an exception. Besides, you ain't gettin' far with that," he looked down at her side, "I couldn't just leave ya here to die."

She was about to say something else, but decided against it. Closing her mouth, she ended the conversation, seeing no point in arguing with him. The two walked out of the Training Center, and he stopped.

"Take me to my dorm."

"What? The infirm-"

"I have some potions in my backpack that will heal me."

Nodding, he supported her as they now walked toward the dormitory. The small trip was quiet, having no one had been up and Paine didn't really want to speak, and Seifer obviously didn't want to either. When they arrived at the dorm, he opened the door and helped her inside. She held her side as she walked, slightly hunched over, to the desk where her backpack had been placed. Opening it up with her left hand, she pulled out a potion and although it tasted awful, she drunk it all, sighing out of relief as the pain went away a second later.

"Feel better now?"

"Yes, a lot." She turned to face him as he spoke again.

"We still hate each other, understood?"

She nodded. "Understood."

"Uh, here," he walked over and placed the sword that he had been carrying on her bed. "I didn't think you wanted to leave that behind so I took it with us."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Just as long as no one finds out about this."

"Why? Are you that embarrassed to have helped someone?"

As she waited for an answer from Almasy, the sound of the heavy rain outside was all she could hear.

"Just…don't tell anyone. As long as everyone else continues to think we hate each other, then I'm happy." He took a couple steps toward the door.

Shrugging one shoulder, she replied, "Okay, whatever you want, mama's boy."

"See ya later, sweetheart." He smirked as he opened the door and left, closing it behind him.

"Nice man." She found herself saying, but added, "When he wants to be." She moved her sword to lean up against the wall in-between her bed and nightstand, and then laid down on the bed, closing her eyes. _Might as well stay here until I feel like eating._

XxXxX

"Good morning, Quistis," Heartilly greeted the woman as she sat down at the table with her, placing her tray of food on the table.

"Good morning," Quistis took a drink of her orange juice before looking over at Rinoa. "Is our guest up yet?"

"Yup, she just got up, look," Rinoa nodded her head, motioning for Quistis to look behind her at the entrance. Looking back, Trepe saw the woman as she walked toward the small line to get some food. She watched Paine walk to a table close to the entrance and sit down, putting her food on the table.

"Let's go join her." Quistis suggested as she stood, picking up her own tray of food and walked over to the table that Paine sat at. "May we?" She asked, motioning to the empty chairs.

"I don't care." Paine replied, watching both Quistis and Rinoa sit down.

"Did you sleep all right last night?" Heartilly asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yes."

"That's good." She smiled, stirring the eggs around on her plate. "I know this won't be as good as your other home, but I do hope you like it here."

"I do." Paine took a bite of her biscuit. She was half listening to the conversation the women in front of her tried to start and the rain outside. _Why must they bother me? I really don't feel like talking; the headache I have is getting worse._ She thought the headache had been caused by the fight she had a few hours ago, but didn't really care. How the headache got started was not her concern right now; the pain was.

"Are you okay? You look paler than usual." Quistis asked in a caring tone of voice.

"I'm fine, just a headache." As she took another bite of her food, she muttered a few random curses. _It's back. Why is it back?_ She silently asked herself, referring to the sick feeling that now dominated her stomach. The headache just got worse, too.

The sick feeling in her stomach got worse; her insides felt like they were being poked. The world around her started to spin as the poking moved up to twisting and the headache to a pounding sound much like the thunder outside, which the storm only got worse as she did.

"Paine?"

_See what I can do to you?_

That voice, it was back again. _So she is the one causing this?_ It wasn't like she wanted to find out the answer, but she found out anyway. As if to answer the question, the feeling in her body disappeared and she fell over onto the floor, limp. Though she could still see and hear, she couldn't move.

_And to think: I can do much more than this if I wanted to._

"Paine!"

_Why-why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?_

_Nothing, nothing at all._

_Then…why me!_

The voice didn't answer her question, but simply made her feel even worse --if that was even possible right now.

"What's going on!" A male voice asked. _So…familiar…_

She listened, or tried to listen, to the voices and identify them, but all she could do was tell if they were female or male. And so far, there were only two females and one male…but as to who they were: she had no clue.

"Let's get her to the infirmary," said the male voice.

She felt him, or someone, pick her up, but then she blacked out from the pain.

XxXxX

She woke, a pounding in her head. Her eyes stayed closed, for she was aware of another's presence in the room. Hearing movement elsewhere in the room, she lay there. No, she wasn't afraid of getting caught; she knew what she was doing.

"The test results say she's perfectly healthy, Squall. You don't have to stay here much longer; she's in good hands." A woman, whom she figured was Dr. Kadowaki by the voice, said to another.

"I know, Dr., but her condition just isn't normal." Squall's voice was coming from her left. She guessed he was seated in the chair next to the bed she was in.

"Yes, I know. I'm trying to do all that I can do to help her. Why don't you-" A phone ringing somewhere nearby interrupted the doctor. She heard her move toward where the phone was and answer it. "Hello? Dr. Kadowaki speaking……Oh, Cid!…Yes, yes, I'll tell him right away……Line three? Okay, bye." A brief pause. "Squall, your father's on line three. It's urgent."

The man next to the bed got up and walked to where Kadowaki and the phone were. A door was opened and someone left.

"Yeah?" His voice was still coming from inside the room so Kadowaki must have been the one who left. "She's fine, for now…Resting……Get to the point."

She opened her left eye a bit. Squall stood there, yards away from her, an irritated look on his face.

"What do you mean it's something that I have to see to understand?…Yes, yes, I understand. When you get here, just park Ragnarok outside and wait, okay?…Whatever. Bye." The phone was hung up.

She had a feeling. A bad feeling. The headache had went away, and now she was interested in finding out what exactly the father and son were talking about. She had been lucky enough to listen in on one half of the conversation. Too bad it hadn't been the other half…… Now was her time to "wake up".

"What was that about?" She asked, hoping he'd tell her _something_ she didn't already know.

"Paine, you're awake. How do you feel?"

"Don't change the subject. What was he talking about?" She sat up, her gaze kept on him.

"I don't know exactly; he wouldn't tell me much, only that he had something I'd want to see." Squall moved to stand next to the bed.

"I want to go with you when he gets here."

"No, no, no, I don't think so. You passed out and have been out cold for the past three hours. You're not going with me." He had a stern look on his face.

"I don't think I _asked_ to go; it was more like me _telling_ you I was going." Her voice matched the glare she was giving him.

"NO." He didn't budge. "You are _not_ going with me. I don't care if I have to assign SeeDs to _watch_ this room, you are _not_ leaving and that's the end of it." He left the room, their argument over with.

She knew he would get people to watch the door to make sure she didn't leave. A smirk crossed her face. "Amazing how he thinks he can actually _stop_ me." Something told her that she _needed_ to go with him, but as to why, she didn't know. But she would soon find out…

XxXxX

Two people, the best SeeDs not counting the ones who helped save the world, were assigned to watch over the infirmary door, their job to make sure the woman inside did not leave. Squall Leonhart had warned them greatly about this woman, and they understood why. Word had gotten around quickly about her hitting Seifer Almasy.

It's not like they were frightened of this woman. No, of course not. Why should they be frightened of a woman who had the guts to hit Seifer? Surely no one else here had those guts, except Leonhart on occasions, but it was still against the rules here at Garden to hit another student or person here.

The two had been allowed to use any sleep spells if needed. As Leonhart explained, there would be more people watching along with them, there just wasn't the time to gather the right people. How reassuring he had sounded……

Inside they heard movement, but just figured the one inside was just bored, or trying to keep awake. Either way, they didn't think she'd try to get out. Boy were they wrong.

Paine thought about a way out, though she had very little time to think of something. _Well, there's my Berserker dressphere, which will help me sneak out of Garden and board Ragnarok. I don't think any other dressphere will help me out of here. I can't draw too much attention to myself, that's why Berserker may come in handy. Or…there's an alternate…_ She shook her head. _No, I can't get to my backpack._ So that idea wouldn't work. Idea number one was still an option…

_There's also the Thief dressphere. That'll help like Berserker. But Berserker allows me to be more…agile than Thief; well, for me, anyway. Rikku was always good with using Thief…_ Perhaps she could just manage with her main, Warrior. Yes, she will just manage with Warrior. It's not like she _wants_ to draw attention to herself. Besides, if she were caught, she was sure that they would wonder about her change of clothes.

Now to think of a harmless way to take out the "guards". She had no sleeping spells of any sort on her, or any-wait! She always carried a couple healing potions (for emergency uses, of course), a sleeping spell, a few element spells, and gas grenades on her. Why? Just in case she was left weaponless in a dangerous place. Well, she was never _truly_ weaponless; she _did_ have her other dresspheres……

Quickly realizing she was wasting time thinking, she stopped her pacing around and stared at the door. Surely Dr. Kadowaki would return, right? And when she did, perhaps she could talk her into letting her out… Or she could just knock both guards out and escape that way. That was always a plan that hardly ever failed for her.

_OR_- She turned around, her gaze stuck on a window. Glancing back at the door, she sighed and said, "You guys got lucky." It only took her less than a minute to open the window and climb out, feet touching the soft ground, the owner thankful that she was only on the first floor and not the second. Scanning the area, she walked alongside the building, lowering to the ground whenever a window came.

She looked around the corner, but looked up instead when she heard the airship nearby. The airship, Ragnarok, lowered to the ground, coming to a complete stop seconds later. One man, whom she noticed was Laguna, ran out of Ragnarok and into Garden. He looked as if he was in a hurry. _And I thought he was told to wait._ Taking this time to board Ragnarok, she ran, quickly, trying to make it there before Laguna decided to come back. She stepped aboard Ragnarok, remembering back to the first time she was here inside the airship. As she went through a couple doors, she tried to think of a good place to hide until they arrived at the place they were going to.

She found a few crates in one corner of a room that she had entered, and quickly hid behind them, moving a crate or two to surround her completely so she wouldn't get caught. She was hid well, the crates being high enough that she wouldn't need to duck. Sighing softly, she closed her eyes and waited……

XxXxX

"I had to pee! How many times do I have to say that?" Laguna followed his son aboard Ragnarok.

"Whatever. Let's just go." Squall understood the fact that he had to go to the bathroom, but his timing was awful.

"We aren't exactly in a hurry, you know. What I want to show you ain't gonna move anytime soon."

"So…what _is_ it, then?"

"You'll see, you'll see." Before long, Laguna had started up Ragnarok and they were off.

"Where is it?" Squall asked a couple minutes later.

"Outside Esthar. Well, you'll see what I mean exactly when we- uh, we're here." Laguna hovered Ragnarok in one place as he walked over to the window. "Look down."

Squall hesitated a second, then walked over to where his father was. "Oh my Hyne… Where did this come from?"

Before Laguna could answer, the sound of the elevator caught both of their attention. Squall had his hand on the handle of his gunblade. He sighed, happy that it wasn't a monster who had stepped off the elevator, but a part of him was mad. "Paine, why are you here? I thought I told you to-"

"Did you really think I'd listen?" Paine walked to where they were, her eyes going wide when she saw what Laguna had brought him- _them_ out here for. "Kilika Island…"

"What? You know this place?" _How? But-but not even Laguna or I know of this place…_ Squall stared at the woman, the shock showed on his face.

"I…"

He saw the shock on her face, as well as a confused look. _What do you know that we don't, Paine?_


	12. Two Down, One to Go

**Disclaimer:**** I only own the mystery people and the plot. I think that's it… For now. **

**A/N: Since there's a...uh...LOT of Al Bhed in this chapter, I made SURE not to forget to put the translations at the end. Makes the chapter look longer...heh... I thank all my reviewers, for you are what keeps me writing. Okay, so even if I didn't get reviews, I'd probably still write this story, but hey! I got reviews! I still thank you all! Hope you enjoy this chapter, and future ones, also.**

**Chapter XII**

**Two Down, One to Go**

_Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns all clean. _**-Maya Angelou**

XxXxX

_He's coming for you, and there's nothing that you can do to stop him._

Gippal stirred in his sleep, his mind confused about the strange female voice. After a few minutes of silence, he opened his eye, looking up at the ceiling. _Okay, that's not normal,_ he thought, referring to the voice he had heard while he had been asleep.

He was back in Djose; a few hours ago, Nooj and him had decided to get some sleep and continue the "conversation" in the morning, since they would get no where if they were tired. And the girl wouldn't tell them anything else until they rested… Besides, if they wanted to find a way to help both Paine _and_ Baralai, they needed to have their mind fully rested and ready to interrogate that girl some more.

Stretching, he let out a yawn. He blinked a couple times, a low murmur of voices reaching his ears. "Tuh'd damm sa dryd juela ec pylg." He muttered, not really in the mood to listen to the strange voice. He stood, stretching once more, then walked out of the room and into the large, round, main room of the temple. As he did so, the voices got louder. "Fryd'c kuehk uh uid drana?" he asked, looking in the direction of the entrance/exit.

"New Yevon," an Al Bhed answered.

"New Yevon? Drec lyh'd pa kuut…" Gippal knew whatever was going on outside, it had to do with his best friend's disappearance. He walked through the doors, now wishing he had stayed in bed. "Fryd dra-" Djose Temple was _surrounded _by people, men and woman, but very few children.

"There's the leader!"

"Hey! What's goin' on? Why are you-"

"We don't want to listen to what you have to say, Al Bhed. We are here because of what you did to Praetor Baralai and Bevelle!" shouted one of the New Yevon men.

"I didn't _do_ anything! Those machina were not under my command!" Gippal was already getting tired of the New Yevon. They come here and accuse him of what happened to Baralai and Bevelle? How dare they? "This is ridiculous!"

"Keep quiet, Al Bhed! You deserve to be punished! You and your machina!"

"_You_ use machina, too!"

"_We_ don't use our machina for evil!"

_That makes two of us. _Gippal turned around and walked back inside. There was nothing else he could do; they just wouldn't listen to him. "Yna ymm Al Bhed ehceta?"

"Oac, drao ymm lysa eh frah drec cdyrdat."

"Yht frah aqyldmo fyc dryd?"

"Ypuid yh ruin yku, Gippal, syopa suna. Fa fuimt ryja fugah oui ib, pid fa fana ryjehk dnuipma kaddehk ajanouha ehceta _cyvamo_."

"Dryd'c ymm nekrd, yd maycd E's yfyga huf." Gippal scratched his head. "Better get in touch with Nooj." He walked over to the CommSphere and chose the destination Youth League headquarters.

"Yes?"

"I may be a little late for that meeting."

Nooj looked confused. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothin' I can't handle. Just New Yevon barkin' at my door."

"Why are they- Never-mind, I already know that answer. Gippal,"

"Huh?"

"Watch your back."

"Right, will do," he clicked off the CommSphere.

"On three, attack!"

"What?" Gippal turned, now facing the doors.

"One!"

"There actually going to _attack_!"

"Draca New Yevon sayh picehacc."

He turned his head ot look at the Al Bhed who spoke. "Drao lyh'd pa caneuic, lyh drao?"

"Two!"

"Drao'na caneuic," said the Al Bhed.

Gippal looked back at the doors. _They really _are_ serious…_ He didn't want to fight New Yevon, but if they actually attacked…

"Three!"

"Rumt dra tuunc!" He yelled as they heard thundering footsteps coming toward them. All Al Bhed, even Gippal, stood in front of the doors, pushing it closed as the New Yevon tried to push it open. "Tuh'd mad dras eh!" He didn't want this to end in bloodshed, so as long as he could keep them out long enough, maybe they'd give up and leave them alone? He doubted it, but it was worth a try. There were also more New Yevon than Al Bhed. He just hoped they were stronger than New Yevon. "Machina! Kad ujan rana yht rumt draca tuunc!" he shouted the order to the few machina inside.

The machina obeyed and took the place of a few of the Al Bhed. He had a new plan to drive the Yevonite pycdyntc away. Or at least solve their problem.

"Tuac yhouha gnuf fryd gehty faybunc drao ryja?" He asked quickly.

"Mycd desa E lralgat, drao ryt huha," answered one of the Al Bhed.

_Great, just great. We don't know what kinda weapons they have, or if they have _any But maybe his plan will still work… "Ruf syho uv oui rana ryja y cmaabehk knahyta uv cusa cund?" Getting several 'I do's, he nodded and continued, "Kuut, kuut. Uh drnaa, fa ubah draca tuunc yht drnuf druca knahytac yd dras, ugyo?"

"Ugyo," replied all Al Bhed.

He hoped the sleeping grenades they had would last long enough for them to remove New Yevon out of their base so they can put all available machina up to guard, and possibly keep New Yevon out for a while.

"Uha."

"Push harder! We've got to get inside and punish those filthy Al Bhed for what they've done to Bevelle and the Praetor!"

"Dfu." _Screw this, _he thought. "Drnaa, ku!" The machina moved back away from the doors as the Al Bhed did the same. The doors were pushed open, and New Yevon rushed inside.

But all was stopped when someone shouted out, "LOOK!"

Both groups ended up walking slowly outside to look at what the New Yevon woman was pointing at.

"Ah _cred_, you have _got_ to be kidding me…" Gippal stared in disbelief. The dark skies lit up from lightning, and thunder boomed in the distance. "Nonononono… This can_not_ be happening…"

"Ec ed dryd…cduns…dryd…" The Al Bhed gulped as he spoke, fear in his voice. "Dryd syta Kilika tecybbayn?"

All Gippal could do was nod in reply, he couldn't take his eye off of what was coming their way --and fast.

"Th-that's the s-storm that hit B-Bevelle…" stuttered a New Yevon.

"What are we to do!"

"Uh…everyone get inside!" He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him over the thunder. "That's all we _can_ do…"

Everyone hurried inside, Gippal and another Al Bhed pushing the doors shut after they made sure everyone was in.

"Fryd yna fa du tu, Gippal?" asked a female Al Bhed, obviously terrified.

He hated the fact that there was nothing that he could do. "Zicd…lmuca ouin aoac yht drehg ypuid rybbo drehkc." Walking over to the CommSphere, he switched it on, thankful that it still worked. "Nooj? Nooj? You there?"

"Yes, I'm here. What's wrong?"

"Uh… We got a code red over here; the storm's comin'."

"What! Get out of there then!"

"If that was an option, I wouldn't be standing here inside the Temple."

"It's your turn, now," said a male voice that was _defiantly not_ _Nooj's_.

"Wha?" Gippal turned around. "Who are you?"

A few feet away from him stood a man, neither New Yevon nor Al Bhed. His black hair matched his dark clothes.

"Baralai says 'hello'." An evil laughter echoed throughout the room as the building shook from the force of the rain and thunder. Gippal just stared, confused, as the man faded away. One of the females in the room, if not a few of them, screamed as the building shook violently this time, making Gippal stumble backwards, falling onto his back, his head bouncing off the floor. Everything around him went black……

XxXxX

"Wha?" Gippal turned, making Nooj unable to see his face. "Who are you?"

Just then, the CommSphere shut down. "NO! Gippal!" He glared at the CommSphere. "No… Why is this happening! First Paine, then Baralai, now Gippal. That damn storm is taking -no, _has_ taken my friends!"

The girl just watched him, unsure of what to say. "But who was he talking to…" Certainly not me… Do you know? You seem to know _every_thing." He turned to look at her.

Shaking her head, she answered, "No, I have no idea who it could have been."

XxXxX

"Oh my God! Djose!" Yuna stared in disbelief as the storm moved away from where Djose _used_ to be.

"Gippal!" Rikku was soon by her side, also shocked. "He may be a byeh eh dra pidd sometimes, but not even _he_ deserves _that._"

"It seems the storm has gotten around some," said Shinra, startling Yuna.

"What do you mean?"

"The first to go was Paine, then Kilika. Now it seems that Bevelle and Djose have also been hit."

Yuna gasped. "Baralai!"

"We'd have to get in touch with Nooj to see if Baralai and Gippal are still with him, or if they were in Bevelle and Djose. Until then, we'll just have to assume the worse." Shinra didn't sound happy about this, but who would? "It seems as if all Spira is disappearing; town by town, city by city, place by place."

A/N number two: Okay, so this chapter is shorter than the others. Sorry 'bout that. I tried to make it long, around 2000-3000 words, but I just couldn't do it. (sighs) Oh well. It's still a good, interesting chapter. Aren't I mean to not let the girl talk any? Hehe... She'll talk. Eventually. And besides, I wanted this to be a Gippal chapter. Anyway, translations are below, like promised. (And I promise chapter thirteen will be a lot longer than this one. It's over 2500 words! Uh...yeah...and it's really, really good! I promise you'll really enjoy it!)

"Tuh'd damm sa dryd juela ec pylg." -- Don't tell me that voice is back.

"Fryd'c kuehk uh uid drana?" --What's going on out there?

"Drec lyh'd pa kuut…" --This can't be good…

"Fryd dra-" --What the-

"Yna ymm Al Bhed ehceta?" --Are all Al Bhed inside?

"Oac, drao ymm lysa eh frah drec cdyrdat." --Yes, they all came in when this started.

"Yht frah aqyldmo fyc dryd?" --And when exactly was that?

"Ypuid yh ruin yku, Gippal, syopa suna. Fa fuimt ryja fugah oui ib, pid fa fana ryjehk dnuipma keddehk ajanouha ehceta _cyvamo_." --About an hour ago, Gippal, maybe more. We would have woken you up, but we were having trouble getting everyone inside _safely_.

"Dryd'c ymm nekrd, ad maycd E's yfyqa huf." --That's all right, at least I'm awake now.

"Drao lyh'd pa caneuic, lyh drao?" --They can't be serious, can they?

"Drao'na caneuic," --They're serious.

"Rumt dra tuunc!" --Hold the doors!

"Tuh'd mad dras eh!" --Don't let them in!

"Machina! Kad ujan rana yht rumt draca tuunc!" --Machina! Get over here and hold these doors!

"Tuac yhouha gnuf fryd gehty faybuhc drao ryja?" --Does anyone know what kinda weapons they have?

"Mycd desa E lralgat, drao ryt huha," --Last time I checked, they had none.

"Ruf syho uf oui rana ryja y cmaabehk knahyta uv cusa cund?" --How many of you here have a sleeping grenade of some sort?

"Kuut, kuut. Uh drnaa, fa ubah draca tuunc yht drnuf druca knahytac yd dras, ugyo?" --Good, good. On three, we open these doors and throw those grenades at them, okay?

"Ugyo." --Okay.

"Uha." --One.

"Dfu." --Two.

"Drnaa, ku!" --Three, go!

"Ec ed dryd…cduns…dryd… Dryd syta Kilika tecybbayn?" --Is it that…storm…that… That made Kilika disappear?

"Fryd yna fa du tu, Gippal?" --What are we to do, Gippal?

"Zicd…lmuca ouin aoac yht drehg ypuid rybbo drehkc." -- Just…close your eyes and think about happy things.

"…byeh eh dra pidd," -- pain in the butt


	13. Where Art Thou, My Beloved Friend?

**Disclaimer: Same as last chapter. I only own the mystery people and the plot.**

**Chapter XIII**

**Where Art Thou, My Beloved Friend?**

_**Magnum bonum** promise maker-- harum scarum promise breaker--_**_ -_Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

_Knock…knock…_

Leonhart rolled over on his side, ignoring the person at the door.

_Knock, knock…knock, knock…_ "Squall? Wake up, Cid wants to speak to you," informed a female voice.

Sighing, he sat up, looking at the door. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute. Let me get dressed." He recognized the voice as Quistis'. Getting dressed, he made his way out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"She's still asleep; I checked on her a few minutes ago," Quistis said as she walked beside him.

"I think most of Garden is asleep, being that it's going on six."

"Yeah, I know. So why'd Laguna come yesterday?"

"He had something important to show me. I'll get everyone together later and explain everything." As he stepped on the elevator, Trepe stayed off.

"Okay, see you then." She waved, then walked off.

When he stepped inside Cid's office, Cid greeted him. "Do you ever sleep?" He asked the headmaster.

Cid chuckled and said, "Yes, occasionally," he adjusted his glasses and stood. "Remember how I told you to keep an eye on Paine while she was here and to make her feel at home?"

"Yeah…"

"Promise me that you will watch her and protect her with your life."

"I've never questioned you, but I must know: why do you care for her so much? Why are you so worried?"

Cid sighed. "Because she's in danger, and she needs someone to be there for her since her friends cannot be."

"So she…_does_ have friends… Where are these friends and what kind of danger?"

"I don't know her friends, but I'm certain they are very worried about her. And about the danger: you'll find out soon enough.

Squall was getting frustrated. Why couldn't Cid tell him _anything_ about Paine! "Fine then, if you won't tell me anything, I might as well tell you what Laguna had to show me yesterday."

"Okay, what?"

"There's an island off to the right of Tear's Point, and it just appeared after a storm went by there. Paine calls it 'Kilika Island'."

"This is…interesting…" Cid sat back down and began to think. "I-" The lights flickered off and on. "Another storm is coming. We've had some strange weather," he said as he turned around in his chair to look out of the window. "Anyway, promise me that you'll watch and protect Paine."

"I promise." Squall meant it, but he was still curious about something… "You're not going to wonder about how she knows what the island is called?"

"Oh, I already know," sitting more comfortable in his chair, he turned to look at Squall. "Go, wake her up, question her if you'd like, but I doubt she'll tell you anything."

Squall turned and left. That's when Edea stepped inside, watching Squall as he left. "I suppose you haven't told him yet?"

"No, but it's getting close to when I'll have to. If she doesn't tell him herself, then I guess we'll have to."

"She won't tell him unless she knows she has no other choice."

"I know; let's give her a day. Hopefully she'll tell him before the day's up."

XxXxX

Squall stepped off the elevator, thinking about what he should do. _Cid knows, but won't tell. I'll just-_ He shook his head. _No, I can't wake her up this early. She deserves the sleep._

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were petrified."

He turned his head to the left. "Oh, good morning, Paine," he hadn't been aware of the fact that he had just been _standing_ there. "I was just…thinking about something. Would you care to join me for breakfast?"

"No thanks. I learned my lesson: never eat before nine AM or else you'll end up puking."

"How do you feel? That ride on Ragnarok couldn't have helped you any."

She walked closer to him. "I feel fine; well, better than yesterday." _Why must you lie? You feel terrible! Ever since that storm came again this morning, you've puked once and you _still_ have that headache. Oh, and must I remind you about the part where you passed out-_ Paine pushed the little voice away and sighed. "Guess I'll see ya later," she turned to walk back to her dorm.

"Paine, wait! I want to talk to you."

She looked at him, not even bothering to hid the fact that she was getting irritated. "Yes?"

"How did you know what that island was called?"

"You know, you should really stop asking me so many questions."

"Well, when some strange woman just shows up out of nowhere, and then later knows about an island that show up, too, I gotta ask about that."

"Five respect points."

"What?"

"You lose five respect points."

"Okay…"

"Be careful; you don't have many left." She started to walk away again.

XxXxX

She fell onto her bed, hand on forehead. "E ryda raytylrac…" Last night she may not have had a dream about that storm and a town, but she now knew what the storm brought… "How is that even _possible_, though? I don't get it…"

Listening to the storm outside, she wondered what it would bring this time. Which town, city, or island? Besaid, Luca, what? "Well, there's one way to find out." She could…wait… They'll find out sooner or later. _For now, I'll just…sleep…_ Her eyes slowly closed, sleep taking over.

XxXxX

_"Squall, your father wants to talk to you," _Cid informed over the intercom. _"He's on line two, answer at the nearest phone."_

Squall sighed, walking into the Infirmary, figuring that that was the closest place that had a phone. "Yes? What now?"

"Don't sound so happy to hear from me, Squall."

"What do you want? Another strange place?"

"Yup, another. It's only the second one though. I wouldn't expect another, but that's just me. This whole situation is weird. I mean-"

"Where is it, Laguna?" Squall's voice sounded irritated.

"At Bika Snowfield, near one of the cliffs there, slightly north-west of Trabia Garden."

"You coming with Ragnarok?"

"Yep, already headed over there. Should be there soon. Go ahead and get your friend, Paine. If she knew what that island was, then she may know this place."

"Whatever, just hurry." He hung up the phone. _He always seems to give me a headache sometimes._ Sighing once more, he headed over to the dormitory. _Hopefully she'll be wanting to come. Maybe I could try asking her that question again… But what would happen if I lost all my respect points?_ Okay, so he wasn't one to worry over something as stupid as that, but come on; she's PAINE, he saw what she did to Seifer. Something bad may happen if someone lost all their "respect points" and he personally didn't want to find out. He'd leave that for Almasy.

He knocked on the door a couple times when he arrived there. "Paine, are you in there?"

XxXxX

_Huh? Oh, Squall. What now?_ She sat up, the headache hitting her hard. "Ah man…" Standing, she slowly made her way to the door, opening it a second later. "Yeah, what do you want?"

"Laguna has found another…place… I was wondering if-" Squall started, not able to finish his sentence because of her.

"I'll go. Give me a minute." She shut the door, and grabbed her backpack, sword attached. _I may need this…_ "Okay, ready," she said as she reopened the door and swung the backpack over her right shoulder.

The two left the dormitory to go wait outside of Balamb Garden, both hoping that Ragnarok would land soon… When Ragnarok _did_ land, they hopped aboard quickly.

"Nice to see you again, Paine," Laguna greeted her as they came aboard.

Simply nodding, she turned to her right, going through the door and walking onto the elevator, going up a second later.

"In a hurry, isn't she?" Laguna said as he and Squall followed her.

"We both are; it's not like this situation is…normal…"

It didn't take Laguna long to start Ragnarok up and fly north. "I haven't checked out the place, but according to a few people, it's an actual city. Kinda like the one on that island, 'cept it's a lot bigger."

Paine mentally flipped through names of cities on Spira: Luca, Bevelle, heck, it could even be Guadosalam or Zanarkand ruins brought back. She would find out as soon as they got there. Later, she would have to check out Kilika to see what exactly happened and if everyone was all right. The only person she knew there, though, was Dona and Barthello. And she really didn't feel like talking to her _or_ him.

The ride was quiet --quiet enough for Paine to enjoy it. She was used to Rikku jumping all over the place. Thinking about Spira put a weird feeling in her gut. Was she actually…_homesick_? Spira was all she knew, at least up until the day she arrived…_here_. She still didn't know exactly what to call _here_. _Here_ just wasn't working. And it's not like she can ask Squall or Laguna, or anyone else here.

"Paine?"

The voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking up from her seat, she saw Squall looking down at her. "What?"

"You just look…paler than usual; are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, stop asking." She watched him go back to his seat.

"Okay, here we are. Let me land and you two can investigate." Laguna told them as Ragnarok slowly to a stop. Before long, they were on ground and Squall and her were outside, Paine being the one who stared, dumfounded, at the city before her.

"Paine?"

"It's…it's…Bevelle…" She chocked out the words, Bevelle barely escaping her lips. _Baralai!_ Quickly, she ran inside, not able to think straight. _Baralai… Are you here, are you really here?_

"Paine!"

She heard footsteps behind her, trying to catch up. _Baralai, please, please be here,_ she thought as she looked around frantically. "Baralai!" She called out. "Baralai! Answer me! Please!" She had never wanted to see his face so badly as she did now. "Baralai!" No answer. "Please, answer me!"

When she got to the main building, she gasped at what she saw: machina parts _everywhere_. "Machina… Why? What happened here?" She asked no one in particular.

"Paine? Who's Baralai?"

"He's…" Her eyes were wide, a shocked look on her face. "He's not here. It's not normal for the Praetor _not_ to be in his city! Where is he! BARALAI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!"

Did the people disappear when the storm brought them here? No, that can't be true. She saw people on Kilika, so where _is_ everyone? Her mind immediately thought the worse. "Oh no… The machina… They…attacked Bevelle… WHY? It makes no goddamn sense!" She absently kicked a machina part near her, immediately feeling pain shoot up her leg. "Why the hell would machina attack Bevelle? Where is everyone!" So many questions, no answers to any of them.

"What's going on, Paine?"

"I don't know!" She shrieked, confused by all of this. If only she could get in contact with _someone_ from Spira. But that seemed impossible right now. It was a one-way trip. Unfortunately. "People are supposed to be here! Not…machina! New Yevon would _never_ allow machina to roam free in their city unless it was _their_ machina. So why are there…pieces of machina here? It makes no sense."

"New Yevon? Machina?"

She immediately remembered who she was talking to. _Oh _**shit. **Mentally slapping herself for forgetting, she knew she was busted. Heck, her cover had been almost busted when she recognized Kilika Island. _Just ignore him for now and go look inside for Baralai. He probably is just unconscious and can't hear you, right? GO NOW._ Agreeing with her conscious, she ran toward the entrance, bursting through the doors, her heart beating quickly. "Baralai?" She called out once more, hoping to get an answer. As she walked further into the room, she heard the doors behind her open, but she knew it was Squall --it had to be. Him or Laguna, but Laguna had stayed aboard Ragnarok. Ignoring it, she continued to walk. "Baralai? Please, answer me."

She scanned the area, finding bits and pieces of vines on the floor. _Vines? Since when were there _vines_ in here?_ Things just got more confusing each time something new happened. "Baralai?" _Please, I'm begging you, ANSWER ME, _she silently pleaded. Footsteps were coming closer to her. "Squall, I don't want to-" As she turned around to face him, her eyes went wide. "Squall?" No one. Getting a bad feeling, she quickly ran out of the room, stepping back into sunlight.

"Squall?" She hollered, sighing out of relief as she saw him turning the corner to her left. _Wait. If the sound came from inside and he's…over…there…_ Her heart sped up. At the top of her lungs, she yelled his name, "SQUALL!" The bad feeling she felt was _all_ she felt right now. She saw him run toward her, eyes going wide as if he saw something that she hadn't seen yet.

"PAINE!"

It was like time slowed down as she slowly turned her head to look behind her. "Oh **_shit_**," was all she could manage to say as she was thrown into the wall nearby. Her right side was first to collide with the wall, but it felt as if her head had been first. Pain throbbing in her head and side, she fell onto her back.

Opening her eyes slightly, she saw a man with black hair… "Wha-" She was cut short as she coughed up blood. Everything around her started to dim…… Strangely, the only thing she really noticed, other than the blood and pain, was the fact that her backpack was being taken off of her. She opened her eyes once more, and watched the strange man put the backpack on, sword still attached.

It was when he picked her up in her arms that she glared at him. "Don't. Touch. Me. You. _Bastard_."

The man ignored her and picked her up, a smirk on his face. Somewhere near them, she heard footsteps running toward them. _Squall?_ She tilted her head back a bit to look at Squall running toward them, though he was upside-down, like she really cared right now. She felt so…weak…

"Nuh-uh, I don't think so," the man who held her kept that smirk on his face. And as if he was trying to prove something, he purposely _dropped_ her, her mind yelling random, unladylike curses at him before her body hit the ground; the force to her head caused her to black out.

XxXxX

"YOU LET HER GO!" Squall yelled, anger filled his voice; he had never been so _angry_ like this before in several, several months --if ever. And when the man dropped Paine and her head hit that ground… Fury filled his mind, his soul, making him one extremely pissed off man.

The man picked her limp body back up. "Bye-bye. Have a nice day." Smirking once more, he disappeared.

"PAINE!"


	14. You Won't Take Me Alive

Disclaimer: Same as last chapter, and the chapter before, and the chapter before and-well, you get the idea. I only own the things that I created, plot included.

Chapter XIV

You Won't Take Me Alive

They are alive and well somewhere,  
The smaller sprout shows there really is no death.  
And if ever there was it led forward life.** -Walt Whitman**

XxXxX

"This is…unbelievable…" Nooj was seated once more in his chair, his eyes staring out at nothing. "Do you know why this is happening?"

"No," the girl simply answered.

"You expect me to believe that? You knew about this enemy, you knew about this other world-"

"Gala."

"Why won't you tell me _why_ this is happening?"

"Because…" she looked like she was choosing her words very carefully. "You aren't ready."

"Aren't ready? Will I be ready when _I_ disappear like my friends?"

This time, the girl stayed quiet.

"All you have to do is explain to me why there's a storm going around, sucking up bits and pieces of Spira and spitting them out somewhere else, or just destroying them all together." Nooj was frustrated; this girl just wouldn't tell him _anything_.

XxXxX

"Do we have enough fuel, now?" asked Yuna, hands behind her back.

"Yes, yes, we have enough to last us a long time. I hope." Brother answered, going back up to the Bridge, Yuna following.

As Brother went back to his seat, Yuna stayed near the railing. "Are we able to contact anyone, yet?"

"No, not yet," Shinra answered, still fixing his computer. When they had crashed, the computer got damaged a little and the CommSphere Network stopped working. "But we have a problem."

"What?"

"The storm is back."

"Where's it headed? Maybe we could steer it off course, or somethin'." Rikku suggested.

"We tried that with Kilika." Yuna reminded the Al Bhed.

"Oh…heh…yeah…"

"So where _is _it headed?" Yuna asked the super-smart Al Bhed.

"Besaid."

"Besaid!" Yuna gasped. "Oh no… We can't let it get Besaid…"

"What can _we_ do?" Rikku hopped from foot to foot. "Ooooo… I hate that stupid storm."

"Let's go to Besaid and help as many people as we can! As long as we load them on here and get out of there before the storm hits, we're fine, right?" Yuna looked back and forth between Rikku and Shinra, hoping for a good answer.

"We should be fine, yes," Shinra stopped working long enough to answer her, but quickly went back.

"Wait! You always forget that I am the leader-"

"Ugh, not _this_ speech again!"

"And you never interrupt the leader, Rikku," Brother had jumped up from his seat and now stood in front of Yuna and Rikku. "I make the orders around here."

"Then what do you want us to do, captain?" Yuna asked, jumping down to the lower half of the room.

"Uh…rescue people of Besaid…"

"Then a rescue mission it is!" Yuna clapped her hands together.

"To Besaid!" Brother slouched over a bit as he walked back to his seat.

"E famm hajan ihtancdyht res," said Rikku, shaking her head.

A few minutes later, Brother informed them that they had arrived at Besaid. He parked Celcius extremely close to Besaid so they could load up the people easier.

Yuna left Celcius and ran up to Wakka, Lulu, and the little baby, who were waiting on the shore.

"What brings you to Besaid, Yuna?" Lulu held the baby in her arms.

"I don't suppose this is about that storm, ya? It's hard to believe that it eats towns and entire islands, ya know."

"Yes, this is about the storm, Wakka. I need everyone to get aboard Celcius." Yuna told them.

"All right, we understand." Lulu was slightly shocked by the news, but had expected something like this to happen sooner or later, just not…this soon…

"You three go ahead and get on Celcius, I'll try to get everyone else aboard, too."

"I'll help ya; you can't do it alone, you know."

Yuna nodded, knowing there wasn't time to argue with him. As Rikku came out and helped Lulu aboard, Wakka and Yuna ran inside the main town.

"You take that half, I'll take this half, okay?"

"Okay," Yuna ran to the right half of Besaid. Starting at the first house, she informed the people there that they needed to get on Celcius, which was waiting out by the shore, and quickly. They didn't hesitate; they trusted the ex-high summoner.

After the first three houses were done, Yuna looked up at the sky, shocked at how fast the storm was coming. The winds were already starting to pick up speed, and the sky was a dark, gloomy gray.

"Yuna! We don't have much time!" hollered Wakka, trying to speak over the sound of thunder.

"I know!" Quickly, she ran toward the temple, where she saw a little girl sitting on the steps, crying. "It's going to be okay. Why don't you come with me and I'll get you to safely."

The girl looked up and said, "Lady Yoona, my brother is missing."

"Your brother? Where was the last place that you saw him?"

"Playing on the bridge by the waterfalls," she answered, now having the hiccups from crying so much.

"I'll find your brother; don't you worry." Grabbing the girl's hand and helping her stand, she walked over to Wakka. "Can you take her to Celcius? I have to go get her brother."

"Okay, I just got done here." Wakka took the girl's hand and looked at Yuna. "You be careful."

"I will," she ran towards that hill in front of the town. It didn't take her long to find the boy sitting in the middle of the bridge. When she got to the small bridge, she was careful not to startle the boy. "Hey there, your sister is worried about you."

The boy looked up. "Lady Yoona!" He stood and ran toward her.

"Come on, let's get you to your sister," she picked him up, thankful he didn't weigh much. She ran back in the direction that Celcius was in, careful not to trip over anything.

The storm had gotten worse, in just a short amount of time. "Don't worry, we're almost there," she whispered to the boy.

XxXxX

Nooj sat there, staring at the girl who stood at the other end of the table. The room was quiet, you could probably listen to their heartbeats if you listened close enough.

Finally, Nooj broke the silence. "You can sit down, you know."

"I'm fine."

Silence again, but this time it didn't last long. "They waited for them to be alone. Why not just hit here and take us all out in one hit?"

"Because they can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm stopping them."

_Now we're getting somewhere._ "How can _you_ be the one stopping them?"

The girl sat down at the closest chair, obviously tired of standing. "As long as I'm here, the storm can't come near."

"You could have told us that before my friends left," he said, his voice harsh.

"At the time, I did not know the storm wanted them gone. It just shows that I don't know as much as you think I know."

"Ah, but you_ do_ know more than I do, correct?"

"…Yes, I suppose so…"

He stared at her. "Then start explaining."

"Fine-"

She was cut short as a man ran into the room. "Sir! We're being attacked!"

"By what?"

"I-I don't know, sir, some…fiend…"

Standing, he looked at the man. "Tell everyone to get ready for a fight."

"No, your people will just die. We can take care of this."

Both looked at the girl as she spoke. "Hold the attack, get everyone to safety." Nooj grabbed his gun.

When the man left, the girl spoke again, "Someone doesn't want me to tell you." A smile was on her face.

"Let's go." He left the room, the girl behind him.

When they stepped outside, they saw this enormous fiend standing at the entrance of the HQ.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a T-Rexaur from Gala. She obviously wants you either dead, or extremely hurt," the girl answered.

"I hope you can fight."

"Funny; I was just about to say the same thing." She held her hands by her sides as two swords appeared. The swords were completely black, matching her dress. The blades were oddly shaped; the sides like teeth, and closer to the handle, it separated and formed "horns" that were shaped like half-moons, the tips pointing at the handle. At the end of the handle, there was a white sphere, matching the white on her dress. The total length of the swords was about three feet each; short, yes, but she was short herself.

"Stay back and hit it with your gun; aim for the eyes, head, any place that looks vulnerable. Hit it with any ice spells, also --if you have any. I'll go in and attack close range, since that's what I'm good at."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah: don't hit me or get killed." As soon as she said that, she ran toward the fiend, swords out by her side.

Nooj aimed his gun and started firing, careful not to hit the girl. She ducked the enormous tail easily. He wasn't going to be able to do anything other than stand here and fire his gun, mainly because of his limp. So he just stood where he was, firing at the fiend's head when the chance came, and watching the girl fight.

XxXxX

As she ducked the tail, a strategy was forming quickly in her mind. Kicking off the ground, she shot upwards, dodging that enormous head that snapped at her. She landed back on the ground, surprisingly making no sound at all, and crouched, noticing that the dinosaur had grown tired of her and now ran toward Nooj.

Knowing that he could watch his own back, but still wanting to fight that fiend, the girl charged forward. An ice spell was thrown at the T-Rexaur, making it stumble backwards several steps. She used this as an advantage, and ran underneath it, stopping when she was standing in front of it.

"Shall I take it from here?" She asked, directing the question to the man a few feet behind her.

"Be my guest. I'll just fire when I'm given the chance." He didn't sound too thrilled about this, but he knew the reason why he had to stay there. So did she.

She whistled, getting the fiend's full attention. As it tried to bite her again, she jumped to the left, using one sword to cut into the thick, scaly shoulder of the beast. Pleased that she saw blood, she dodged the huge mouth again by jumping upwards, landing on its head. Before she could react, the beast threw its head backwards, throwing her several feet in the air. Flipping, she landed on her feet, left hand flat on the ground to keep her balanced.

"So you want to play rough, huh? Well I can play that way too." Seeing that her swords had been thrown out to the sides, she summoned them back to her, grabbing the handles tightly. "You may want to get ready; when I say 'now', you shoot a bullet at it," she said to Nooj, hoping he heard her. Getting a nod in return from the man, she decided that it was time to end this battle.

The T-Rexaur lunged at her again, her jumping to the right to --once more-- dodge it. She crouched, springing up, landing on the fiend's back. She ran to the thick neck before it could throw her off. Again. Now leaning against the back of the neck, she stuck her two swords in the sides of its throat, or tried to, at least. When the fiend reared backwards, trying to throw her off, she missed and dropped both swords. Cursing to herself, she wrapped her arms around the neck as best as she could, gripping onto the loose skin to keep herself from falling off. "NOW! Shoot it in the throat!" She screamed as the beast's mouth opened, revealing sharp, sharp teeth. She knew it was risky, but didn't care.

"But-"

"NO BUTS! IT WON'T- JUST SHOOT!"

_BANG!_

XxXxX

He had pulled the trigger, hesitating to do so because he worried that the bullet would go through and hit the girl. His fears came true when he saw blood shoot into the air, the girl and the fiend falling backwards. The ground shook as the fiend hit the ground. Fearing that she was dead --no, _knowing_ that she was dead, he ran as fast as he could around the fiend and to the body that lay a few feet away.

Kneeling down beside her, he saw where the bullet had pierced through her, dark blood on her dress. Her beautiful blue eyes closed, she was not breathing. He lowered his eyes, feeling deep sorrow. She had just been a kid --a kid with amazing strength, but a kid nonetheless. He hadn't even known her name, so what would he put on her gravestone?

_Just a kid, a kid who didn't deserve to die; they never do._ Keeping his eyes lowered, he sighed. _And it was _my_ bullet that killed her… I knew I shouldn't have pulled the trigger._

Slowly, he began to stand, leaning on his cane to keep his balance. He found himself staring at the girl, at the blood on her dress. _I didn't think it'd go through… It seemed impossible._ But the impossible turned possible when everything here changed, when they found out about this other world --Gala, as the girl had called it--, and when Paine had disappeared…

He turned, wanting to get away from the smell of death, which was still left behind from where the T-Rexaur had been --its spirit had floated away, the body disappearing with it. He knew that the smell would soon vanish in due time.

He was a good five feet away when he heard this…_squishing_ sound, the sound of someone's insides being moved around or pushed together. Turning around slowly, unsure of the sound, he looked at the body and his jaw dropped slightly, as if he was gasping silently.

The body of the girl lay there, untouched and as still as a stone. But what caught his attention --and what must've been making the strange sound-- was her stomach _moving_, the hole in her gut and dress being sewed up; the blood where the hole was disappeared, as did the blood splatter elsewhere on her beautiful dress and pale face. The supposed-to-be-dead-girl shot up, gasping for air, the hole in her back where the bullet had exited gone, as was the blood. Her blue eyes wide, she continued to gasp for air.

"Oh, my _God_- You're- How is this possible-?" Nooj's mind searched for answers, only coming with one, which he said out loud, "You're not human."

XxXxX

"Yuna! Hurry!" Shrieked Rikku from the sandy shore of Besaid. Celcius was behind her, Yuna in front, running toward her, a boy in her arms. "The storm's closin' in!"

Yuna ran faster, jumping over a log, but ran even faster when her feet touched the ground. Rikku turned around and ran aboard the airship, knowing Yuna and the boy would make it.

"She comin?" Wakka asked the Al Bhed.

"Yeah, she's coming." She turned her head to look at Yuna, then continued to the Bridge.

As Yuna stepped aboard, she didn't stop as she ran after Rikku. "Where are the others?" She asked, catching her breath.

"Uh, in the cabin," Rikku answered, clicking the button labeled "Cabin" instead of the Bridge. Once the elevator stopped, all three stepped out, the boy running toward his sister, who was thrilled to see him.

"So many people… We did get them all, right?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah, we got 'em." Wakka answered, stepping off the elevator and walking up to them. "The boy was the last, so, they're all safe now. At least until we get away from the storm behind us, ya know."

"Brother should be-" Yuna was cut off as she felt Celcius start to rise. "Taking off."

XxXxX

As Celcius rose and flew forward and away from Besaid, the storm's giant waves engulfed the small islands, including the one Besaid was at. The islands disappeared from sight, neither sinking nor being destroyed. And as if the storm had eyes, It spotted something else to eat, flying away from It. Quickly, the dark clouds headed toward the flying object. The ocean stayed still, remembering its previous encounter with this flying thing.

The flying thing continued moving away from It, but It knew what to do. It moved until It was right above Its new prey, the ocean beneath It now fully awake; waves started to form, small but gradually growing in size. It was hungry, eating the other things had made Its hunger satisfied, but now It wanted more. Although what It ate disappeared, it still satisfied It. A low growl rumbled in Its throat, making everything outside shake. Impatient, It wanted food, and lowered Its body toward the thing below It.

But the thing picked up speed, making It angry and even more hungry. A small part of It was pleased that the thing was frightened of It, but It was more hungry than pleased. Determined not to let it get away again, It lowered Its body, Its tail reaching down and wrapping around the thing that was flying away from It. Now It guided the flying thing on Its own, wrapping Its long, snake-like body around the flying thing.

Its large, sea blue eyes stared through the window in the front of the thing, finding people inside. Wrapping around tighter to make sure It didn't fall off, the flying thing started to lower to the ocean below. Closing Its eyes, a giant water hand rose up from below, turning into a slender rope of water a second later and wrapping around the flying thing also. As the water pulled the flying thing down, It opened Its mouth and put the nose of the flying thing in-between Its gigantic jaws. Both were lowered and It could hear screaming --loud screaming coming from inside Its food.

It smiled on the inside, loving the screaming sounds. The screaming stopped, though, when both hit the water, making the people inside hit anything around them if they weren't prepared for it, and making It angry. It didn't like the fact that the screaming stopped, but a second passed and It didn't care anymore. At least It ate.

Al Bhed Translations:

"E famm hajan ihtancdyht res," --I will never understand him.


	15. I Don't Speak No Funky Language

Disclaimer: Like every other time: I ONLY OWN THE STUFF I CREATED AND THE PLOT.

Chapter XV

I Don't Speak No Funky Language

Anger as soon as fed is dead;  
'T is starving makes it fat. **-Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

_I could have stopped it. I could have saved her. But I didn't. He…he wasn't human…_

"Squall?"

Leonhart looked up at whomever was in front of him, his eyes not focusing, his mind still in its own world. _Paine… I'm sorry…_

"Squall?" Another voice, this time…more gentle.

The person in front of him moved to stand and walk around something, standing next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault, Squall. You couldn't have known that he was going to show up like that and kidnap her."

_It _is_ my fault. I could have stopped him from hurting her, from kidnapping her, but I didn't._

"Squall…" The female voice came from his right.

_Snap out of it,_ his inner voice snapped at him. _If you sit here feeling guilty, you won't help her. You've got to search for her, help her any way you can._ His eyes focused, looking sideways at the man beside him, then at the woman to his right. "Rinoa."

"Oh, Squall," She hugged him, her voice soft.

He put an arm around her, listening to Cid.

"Did you happen to see what he looked like?"

Nodding, he said, "Yeah, I got a good look at him."

Rinoa moved and sat in a chair beside him. "I hope she's okay."

_But she's not,_ he wanted to say. He remembered what had happened before the man disappeared, the smug look on his face, the pain he caused her…

"Black hair, the man had black hair. Maybe gray eyes, dark clothes, reminded me of Seifer by the way he _smirked_, except he looked more evil than Almasy will _ever_ look."

"I'll have someone start looking for a man with that description, for now, you need to get on Ragnarok. Laguna's outside, waiting." Cid informed, pushing off the desk and walking back around to his seat. "Apparently, a storm left something behind again."

"Where?" Rinoa asked, looking back and forth between Squall and Cid.

The headmaster sat down, resting his hands on the desk. "Talle Mountains, east of the orphanage. Laguna says you can be there in under ten minutes."

Squall nodded, standing, his eyes locking with Rinoa's. "I'll be back soon." As he turned to leave, Rinoa stopped him.

"Maybe you should take someone else with you? You haven't really visited any of these places that seem to fall out of the sky, except for the one that…Paine was kidnapped at…"

"Rinoa's right, you should take someone else with you."

"Fine. I'll take two others." He left, wanting to see if he could find anything useful at this new place. "Zell," he said once he stepped off the elevator and saw the young man walking toward the cafeteria.

"Yo," Zell turned and ran back to him. "You called? Hey, where's-"

Interrupting him, he said, "I'm going to go check out the new place that just showed up. I'll be looking for clues on Paine's whereabouts."

"You mean- Oh…uh, sure, I'll come."

"I'd like to come, too, if that's alright with you."

Both turned to look at the blonde that stood to Zell's right, and Squall's left. "It's fine with me, Quistis."

"Good, let's go then. We've got a place to check out."

XxXxX

"You all right?" Was what Laguna first asked Squall when he stepped aboard.

"I'm fine. Let's just go." He walked past him, and to the right, through a door.

The others followed, Laguna walking beside Quistis. "I'm guessin' he ain't okay…"

"I haven't been told much, but it has something to do with Paine. I'd ask him, but I know better than that. He won't tell me anything." Quistis watched Squall get on the elevator and go up.

"Uh, Paine was kidnapped, by whom, I don't know." Laguna explained, stepped on the elevator along with Zell and Quistis.

"Kidnapped? Who would kidnap _her_?" asked Zell, surprised.

"I don't know." Laguna quickly shut his mouth when the elevator stopped, knowing Squall wouldn't want to hear them talk about it.

Before long, Ragnarok was flying south, toward Talle Mountains. Five minutes passed and the sky grew darker by each passing minute.

"We're almost there," informed Laguna from the pilot's seat.

Squall was looking out of the window, watching the blurry ocean below. He was obviously deep in thought because when Zell tried to talk to him, he didn't answer or even acknowledge that he was there.

Ragnarok started to descend, turning around in a circle before landing on the sand in front of a tall structure. The structure itself was large, and in-between two rock mountains. Around the building, there were floating rocks and electricity everywhere, circling the structure. The sky above was a little dark, but not too dark that you couldn't see anything. It looked as if it was late in the afternoon here.

The three got out of Ragnarok, Laguna staying inside just in case they needed to take off immediately. Squall was leading as they stepped on the stone pathway leading to the building. Hand on weapon, he looked around cautiously. When they were close enough to the building, they saw people outside, looking around, confused looks on their faces. Most --no, all-- had blond hair and from Squall could see, green eyes with swirls.

_None look harmful, but never judge a book by its cover._ Squall cautiously walked up to one of the men there, hand still on weapon. "Excuse me-"

"Frana's Gippal? Ryc yhouha caah Gippal!" Shrieked the man.

"What?"

"Yo, I don't speak no funky language, speak ENGLISH. You know what ENGLISH is?" Zell asked, hands out with palms facing upwards.

"Fru yna oui?"

"What? I don't understand."

Knowing it was a lost cause, the man shook his head. "Spirians yht draen myhkiyka."

"Does anyone here speak English?" Squall asked, raising his voice so everyone could hear him.

"I'm guessing your English is our Spirian," a blonde woman walked up, the same color eyes as everyone else.

"Spirian?"

"Yes, the language most people of Spira speak. I take it you are not from Spira…and we are not there anymore." The woman looked sad, worried too. She turned her head to shout at the other people. "Luhdehia muugehk vun Gippal. Ra cruimt pa rana cusafrana."

"What language is that?" Quistis asked, curious.

"Al Bhed; we are the Al Bhed of Spira. It is a pleasure to meet you, people of this world. Please, tell us where we are," the woman bowed slightly, blonde hair falling in her face as she did so.

"Gala, this world is called Gala and you are in a place that is named Talle Mountains. How did you get here?" Squall removed his hand from his weapon, feeling no threat among these…Al Bhed. "And what is this place called?"

"We do not know. One minute we are inside the Temple among the New Yevon, then the next the storm hits and we all wake up here. Except for the New Yevon, of course. They are no longer here; we don't know where they disappeared to." A smile formed on the woman's face. "This place, my friend, is Djose."

"Wait --New Yevon? What are…New Yevon?"

"Ah, yes, of course; you don't know about them. New Yevon is a group of very religious people, they showed up at our doorstep, wanting to fight us for what happened to their Praetor. They accused Gippal, our leader, of ordering the machina to attack Bevelle-"

"Bevelle?" Squall seemed shocked.

"Yes, Bevelle, that's where New Yevon stays. How do you know of that place?"

"A friend told me. Say, do you know a woman named Paine?"

"You think- Oh, that would explain a lot…" Quistis absently put one finger to her lips, thinking. "Yes, it would…"

"Yup, sure do. Seen her a few times. She's a good friend of all three leaders: the leader of Youth League, Nooj; the leader of New Yevon, the Praetor Baralai, and our leader, Gippal. Why? Where is she? She went missing several days ago, she had all three leaders and her other friends worried sick about her." The woman seemed to know a lot about her…

"She was…kidnapped yesterday while we were exploring this…Bevelle that we found north of here. The city was empty, except for a few machine parts. Where's this Gippal?"

"That's what that Al Bhed was rambling on about. It seems Gippal has gone missing, but not for the first time. Though, the first time he was found, but this time I doubt we'll find him again. My gut tells me he's in trouble. And if you say that Bevelle was empty, then Baralai obviously disappeared, also. This is not good…" The woman stared at the ground, then looked back up at him. "If you find Gippal, please, at least tell him about Paine. He…cares for her greatly, anyone can tell. But if you happen to find any one of the leaders, tell them about Paine. They _all_ care for her."

"Okay, what do they look like?" Squall glanced back at Quistis, who had already taken out a notebook and pencil, ready to write down the descriptions.

"Hard to miss any of 'em. Gippal has an eye patch over his right eye, and he's dressed oddly like any Al Bhed that you'll see; spiky blond hair, too, and in his late teens, same age as Paine. Baralai, a couple years older than Gippal, I think, white hair and is mainly dressed in green. Nooj…machina left arm and leg, limps, and uses a cane, long, brown hair, and is dressed in burgundy, I think. They are all pretty hard to miss, as you can probably tell," she explained, putting her hands on her hips. "I hope you find 'em. I'd like to help, or at least send someone to help, but we've got to stay here and make sure all machina here are okay, and besides, I don't think anyone wants to leave."

"Okay, thanks, we'll send someone here to watch over you, just in case, and so you can contact us if you need anything." Squall told her.

"Gotcha." She turned and left to help some other Al Bhed.

He headed back to Ragnarok, Quistis and Zell behind him. "We'll go back to Garden and I'll tell Cid about this."

"It's hard to believe that she came from another world…" Zell had his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky. "All of this is pretty hard to believe."

"You can say that again," Quistis rubbed her eyes, notebook and pencil back in pocket. "But I guess it does explain a lot of things… How she just…showed up and all."

"So how did Cid know?"

Quistis and Zell looked at him, shocked. "Cid? He knows?"

"Yeah, he knows, but how? I doubt Paine told him… Edea?"

"Possibly, she is a sorceress. Maybe she could, like, _sense_ somethin' from her and ya know…uh…know that she came from another…uh…world…somethin' like that…" Zell was as confused about this as anyone else. "But how did she get here? It's not like she just _wished_ to be here and BOOM, showed up here."

"She didn't know about this place, probably, I doubt this world was something you'd talk about over dinner." Squall said as they walked toward the elevator inside Ragnarok. "Those Al Bhed didn't know about Gala."

"So…what's the news down there?" Laguna asked when they stepped out of the elevator and sat down in their seats.

"You can catch up on everything when I report to Cid," Squall said, not feeling like repeating everything twice.

XxXxX

"I knew there was somethin' fishy about that woman…" Laguna stood behind the chair Squall sat in. Leonhart had just finished filling Cid in on…most things, when Laguna had spoken up.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Squall asked, sounding irritated.

Cid sighed. "I wanted her to tell you herself; I _was_ going to give her a day to tell you, but…" he lowered his eyes. "I didn't know this was going to happen…"

"None of us did." Thinking about what he should say next, Squall said, "The people at Djose are called Al Bhed, and they speak a different language. Luckily, a woman there spoke our language and gave us a lot of information; though, not much that will help us find Paine."

Quistis took this as her cue and walked up to the desk, placing her notebook in front of Cid. "Those are the descriptions of Paine's closest friends: Baralai, Nooj, and Gippal. From what the woman told us, Baralai and Gippal went missing when the strange storm hit."

"Is it possible they made it out?"

"No, sir, the woman had said that Gippal was there the entire time, but she didn't know about Baralai."

"Well-"

_Ring._

Sighing, Cid answered the phone. "Cid speaking… Yes… What?… Okay, okay, I'll send Squall over there." Hanging up the phone, he looked at Squall, adjusting his glasses. "That was one of the men left behind to watch over…Bevelle. It seems that these 'missing New Yevon' you told me about returned."

XxXxX

Squall walked down the long walkway, turning left a few moments later. A group of people stood outside the large building, all dressed strangely.

"Are you the New Yevon?"

A man, possibly a priest by the way he was dressed, turned to look at him. "Yes, and who may you be? Someone who could tell us where we are and how we got here?"

"My name is Squall Leonhart. You are on the world Gala, but I don't know how you all ended up here…" _And I have a feeling I won't know anytime soon…_

"A…different world! Not possible!"

_Possible; you're standing right in front of me, aren't you?_ "I know it's hard to believe, but trust me --it's true." He waited a minute or two to let the man calm down before continuing. "I'd like to ask you a few questions, okay?" The man nodded, and Squall continued, "Do you know a woman named Paine?"

"Uh, yes, yes; she's that woman-friend of the Praetor. Ever since she went missing, Praetor Baralai has been depressed, but has been paying full attention to finding her. He, Nooj, and that _filthy_ Al Bhed have been trying to figure out how to find her and where to look."

"Is this Al Bhed you speak of Gippal?"

Growling, the priest said, "Yes, that's him. He sent those cursed machina of his in and attacked our beautiful Bevelle! What's worse, is that he also attacked the Praetor --a good friend of his!"

_So which side do I believe? The Al Bhed or New Yevon?_ "How do you know he sent the…machina to attack Bevelle and Bara- Praetor Baralai?" He thought it best to at least call the man Praetor in the presence of any New Yevon.

"Because he hates New Yevon! And the Al Bhed and their machina are cursed and evil!" The priest was infuriated. "I do not wish to speak to you anymore. Leave our city before I have a guard show you out."

Squall turned and started to walk away, not wanting to start a fight with a priest. _I've got all the information I'll ever get out of him, anyway… Next time I'll remember to stay off the subject of 'Gippal' or 'machina'._

**Al Bhed Translations:**

**"Frana's Gippal? Ryc yhouha caah Gippal!" -- Where's Gippal? Has anyone seen Gippal!**

**"Fru yna oui?" --Who are you?**

**"Spirians yht draen myhkiyka." -- Spirians and their language.**

**"Luhdehia muugehk vun Gippal. Ra cruimt pa rana cusafrana." -- Continue looking for Gippal. He could be here somewhere.**


	16. Three Down, The Trap is Set

Disclaimer: **I only put this here each chapter so I don't get sued. (Paranoid, I am.) I only own the stuff I created, plot included, and nothing else. **

Chapter XVI

Three Down, The Trap is Set

To fight aloud is very brave,  
But gallanter, I know,  
Who charge within the bosom,  
The cavalry of war. **-Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

She sat there, his eyes still locked on her. She had been lucky he had even let her back inside, after her…miraculous --as he wanted to call it-- recovery. Still as confused as before, he just _sat_ there, unable to think of _anything_ to say; until _she_, the…non-human being, spoke, her voice slow and calm.

"I honestly hadn't intended for you to find out like that…"

"Find out about what! About the fact that you're not even _human_!" He snapped, taking a deep breath a moment later, knowing he shouldn't have snapped like that. He should've known that she wasn't a normal, little girl by all the information she had told him--them. But not_ human_?

"Please, you must understand-" Sorrow filled her blue eyes, even as he interrupted her.

He held up his right hand. "We don't have time for this. We've got to figure out a way to leave this place; it's not safe anymore." Just moments ago, he had called everyone inside because of the threat outside: several more of those fiends --T-Rexaur-- had shown up, guarding their only way out.

"It's as safe as any other place," the girl stated.

"You said the storm can't hit here, not the T-Rexaur. At least somewhere else we won't have those fiends preying on us, drooling as they think about eating every last one of my people --me included, since you see to heal."

"Healing won't help if one swallows me whole."

"True." Turning his head, he looked out of the window to his left. They'd need a freakin' _miracle_ to get out of here in one piece. Suddenly realizing he hadn't even filled Yuna in on the information they knew and she didn't, he mentally slapped himself for forgetting. He stood, making his way to the CommSphere only a few feet away. Clicking it on, he heard the girl in the background.

"What are you doing? I thought it stopped working?"

Without looking back, he answered, "Only on Djose did it lose the transmission. And I'm going to tell Yuna all that I now know, since she may want to know." Choosing 'Celcius', he waited a couple seconds, getting nothing. Automatically, the CommSphere clicked off, losing the transmission --no, not getting it at all.

"What the-?" He clicked it a couple more times, still not getting anything.

"Maybe it's just temporarily down and Shinra is trying to fix it?" She suggested, trying not to think the worst.

"Maybe…" Nooj didn't care of even wonder about how she knew who Shinra was; instead, pushing the thought aside and mentally reminding himself to ask her later. Removing his hand from the CommSphere, he wondered why it wasn't connecting to the one on Celcius… If they had seen the storm near them, surely they would have flew off at full speed, right?

He stood and walked back to his chair, not even having time to sit as a transmission was coming through the CommSphere. Turning, he walked back, hoping it was the Gullwings…

"Hey! Anyone there!" It was Nhadala, yelling for some unknown reason.

Kneeling beside the CommSphere to get a better look, he saw the Al Bhed, now understanding why she was yelling: a storm was going on over there at Bikanel Island. "Nhadala? Is that-"

"No. It's not _the_ storm. Just _a_ storm. Things got a lil' rough over here the last couple days. We're hoping it'll pass soon." She explained, voice still loud, nearly yelling, but she continued. "I contacted you for a reason, obviously," The screen fuzzed a bit, but still maintained --though not clear-- a picture. "One of the Al Bhed Psyches at Luca contacted me just a minute ago and said that they had a message for you, they just couldn't get connected to Youth League HQ through the CommSphere, nor speak Spirian; so here I am." She took a deep breath. "I don't know if you know already, but the storm hit Besaid just over thirty minutes ago. No one knows if Yuna was there, but several people say that they saw Celcius flying away from the island, and then it…disappeared. I sent a flying machina over there to see if Besaid truly _was_ gone, and…it is."

Nooj, shocked, stood, unable to believe what Nhadala had just told him; but knowing it had to be true. Why would she lie about _that_?

"I'm sorry I can't tell you good news…" Her voice was low this time, being carried away and lost by the sound of the heavy winds.

"Thanks for telling me, Nhadala. I hope that storm clears up soon." He clicked off the CommSphere after seeing the Al Bhed nod. "Now Yuna's gone… Why the hell is this happening!"

Hearing the girl stand and walk in his direction, he turned to look at her as she spoke.

"Unfortunately, there's no way to stop the storm. And if there were several copies of me, I'd stay in each place to make sure the storm doesn't take another place…but there aren't," her voice grew more stern. "and if you ever want to see your friends again, you'll trust me --completely. Got it?"

Shocked by the sudden sternness in her voice, but recovering quickly, he nodded. "Got it." He could kind of guess what would happen even if he didn't trust the girl a little. "If we are to work together, you must at _least_ tell me your name."

She nodded, opening her mouth as if to speak, but instead, her eyes went wide. And in the blink of an eye, she disappeared.

Widening his eyes, also, he was confused --his mind forgetting that she wasn't human for a split second, then wondering why she would disappear like that.

Quickly brought back to the present by the sound of the doors opening, he turned, a more shocked look appearing on his face. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded, his voice calm and in control, but still letting the person in front of him know he wasn't in the mood for games.

"A person, just like you," the tall, black haired man answered.

"Unlike me, you're not welcome here. Who-"

"You've got awful guards; allowing me to walk in like this."

"Tell me who you are or I'll have you thrown out to the fiends outside," he said, his voice harsher this time.

"Your friend, Baralai, I do believe, sent me," the man walked two steps forward, Nooj standing his ground, wondering where the hell the girl disappeared to.

"Baralai? He sent you? Why?"

Taking yet another step forward, the man smiled, "Because he wanted me to tell you the information I told him; that's all." His smile turning upside down, he continued, "Paine is alive, but not well; for I have seen her myself."

"What? You lie! Paine is in good hands."

"Ah, but how do you know that? How can you be certain that whomever told you that is telling the truth?

Nooj eyed the man suspiciously. "And how do I know _you're_ telling the truth? What if this is a trick, and the enemy is behind it _all_? What if _you_ work for the enemy?"

Shaking his head, the man sighed. "Such a fool. I came here to help you but you automatically think _I_ am the enemy! Ridiculous! I was merely sent here by the Praetor himself to tell you about Paine. But I see you don't care about this information and someone has tricked you into believing that she's okay, when you know that can't possibly be true."

_If Baralai sent him, then…could he possibly be telling the truth?_ Was it worth the risk?

"If you don't wish to know, then I will leave."

"The exit's behind you." No. It wasn't worth the risk. He had a _bad_ feeling about this guy.

The man was surprised by his reply --it showed on his face. "You don't wish to know the information I have?"

"I'm sure it's…interesting, but I simply do not trust you." Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "When did Baralai send you, anyway? Are you the reason why he went back to Bevelle?"

The man didn't answer, clearly surprised yet again. As quickly as he was surprised, a look of amusement appeared. "What would you do if I told you I worked for the enemy? Shoot me with that pitiful weapon of yours?" He gestured toward the gun that was now in Nooj's hand.

"You want to find out?"

"Pull the trigger. Don't hesitate to shoot me. If you can shoot your friends, surely you can shoot your enemy."

He gasped. "How-how did you know about that?"

Without answering, the man walked to the right, as if he was going to circle the room. "She's so…fragile, when you look at her closely --oh, and when she's knocked unconscious."

"You…_bastard!_ What did you do to her!" Nooj didn't need him to say a name because he knew _exactly_ who he was talking about.

"Such soft skin…lovely hair, too."

"If you've touched her in any way, I'll-"

"What? Kill me? Go ahead, then. I won't stop you." He stopped walking, now facing him. "Shoot me."

Nooj didn't hesitate when he raised the gun in his hand and aimed for the man's head; but he _did_ hesitate when he went to pull the trigger. _Something's not right…_

"DO IT!"

_No, it won't help,_ the voice wasn't his, but…someone else's…

"_I_ kidnapped your friend! _I _slammed her against the wall and watched the blood seep from the wound!-"

_BANG!_

The man fell backwards, bullet through his forehead. As his body hit the ground, Nooj lowered the gun, not surprised at all that he pulled the trigger; the man _deserved_ to get shot.

But when the man sat up, wound gone, he _knew_ the man wasn't human.

"I seemed to have forgotten to tell you one small, important thing: shooting me won't help." The man chuckled, bursting into laughter a moment later. "Humans these days --such entertainment. You can say a couple things, and bring out an emotion of some sort. Or a bullet in your case. By the way, that hurt."

"What _are_ you?" For some reason, all that he could think of was that girl.

"I'm definitely not human." He smiled that crooked smile. "Say hello to your friends for me, will ya? I hear they're having a _blast_." He disappeared before Nooj could reply, or even blink!

The thunder outside snapped him out of the shock he was in. It sounded like…it was coming from right about HQ. "Oh, no…" It was too late. He was going to have the same fate as his friends. Feeling an ache, he sat down in the nearby chair, left arm on the table. "Paine…what has he done to you? And where could have Baralai and Gippal disappeared to?" Was it possible they were still alive? And well? Perhaps in a nice, cozy room with a fireplace and a soft bed. The things you think in your final moments… _Were_ these his final moments?

The storm…where did it take them? Did it kill them? Well, he'll find out for himself soon.

"I won't let them take you. You're my last hope."

"Huh?" Nooj raised his head and turned it to the right. "Where'd you disappear too?"

The girl lowered her head as if to apologize. "I couldn't let that man see me."

He nodded, understanding. A little. "The storm is already here, it's too late."

"I'll keep them away from you for as long as I can."

"How?"

She didn't even have time to answer --the place shook so hard Nooj actually fell out of his chair, the girl falling to her knees. It was like the roof collapsed on them as everything went black.

A/N: Okay, yet another short chapter, but a good one. Sorry for the shortness. I hoped it wouldn't be short, but…yeah… it's short…just barely over 2000 words… Oh well, at least it's another great chapter (in my opinion). Don't forget to review!


	17. Strangers

Disclaimer: I only own the stuff I created.

Chapter XVII

Strangers

I many times thought peace had come,  
When peace was far away;  
As wrecked men deem they sight the land  
At centre of the sea,  
And struggle slacker, but to prove,  
As hopelessly as I,  
How many the fictitious shores  
Before the harbor lie. **-Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

_What…happened…?_ She sat up, putting a hand to her head. Slowly, the memory of what happened what felt like moments ago, returned. "What _was_ that thing?" Looking around, she found that she was still in Celcius, which didn't seem like it was damaged much --which was pretty unbelievable, considering…

"Uuuuuhh…my head…"

"Rikku!" Raising to her feet, she saw the young Al Bhed on her stomach, hand on head as her other hand pushed her to her knees. "Are you all right?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," Rikku answered, "a killer headache, but I'll live."

"Are you guys all right?" Yuna asked loudly, so the others could hear her.

"I'm…uh…all right…" Brother sat up straight in his seat.

"I'm all right, too," Buddy reported from his seat.

"Me too," said Shinra.

"I'll go check on our passengers." Buddy stood and ran to the elevator, going to the cabin a second later.

"Whoa… Frana yna fa?"

Once Brother said that, Yuna walked over to stand beside him. "Oh! We're not…in Spira?" She hadn't meant for it to come out a question, but it just came out like one. She heard running footsteps behind her, then heavy breathing.

"Guys, our passengers are gone."

XxXxX

_"Squall Leonhart, please report to my office. I repeat-"_

As Cid's voice came from the speaker, Squall sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. He got very little sleep last night, and now Cid was waking him up around seven in the morning. Usually he woke up on his own, but he's been strangely tired lately…

It didn't take long to get ready and head to Cid's office. A few kids were up, but none of his friends; at least, he didn't run into any of them on his way to the elevator.

A few moments later, he walked into the office, seeing Cid standing a few feet away from his desk. "Ah, good morning, Squall!" he greeted him. "Laguna called."

He knew what to expect every time his father called. "Where?"

"Actually, there's two things, now. The first is an island off the coast of the Serengetti Plains. And the other…is an airship, _on_ the Serengetti Plains, near the coast."

"An airship…" At first, it didn't come to him, but when he thought about it… "Paine mentioned an airship the first time we met… Do you think it could be the same one?"

"Possibly." The headmaster thought for a moment. "Laguna's on his way here to take you to the Plains."

XxXxX

"There, land there, next to the airship," Squall ordered, pointing to an airship.

"Gotcha," Laguna landed Ragnarok next to the other airship. "You don't want to check out the island first?"

"No, I don't." Squall was already making his way toward the exit when he said that.

As he stepped outside, he saw the large airship that reminded him almost of a bike of some sort. Now how was he going to get inside…? If there were people in there like he hoped, he didn't want to seem like a threat. And hopefully if Paine said she used to ride in this airship (he hoped it was the right one), then the people --if there _were_ any inside-- might possibly be her friends. Maybe if he yelled…but what if the enemy was inside? So far, he was doing a lot of _hoping_.

_Decide now, Squall,_ his inner voice told him. "Luck be on my side…" he mumbled, taking a deep breath, hand on handle of gunblade. "Hello! Anyone in there!"

The entrance lowered, slowly, making his grip on the handle tighten.

XxXxX

She pointed her guns at the exit as it lowered, not knowing if the person outside was on the good or bad side. Rikku stood on the other side, her weapons ready, just in case.

When the door lowered completely, she had pulled her guns back and held them tight against her, counting to three quietly before looking at Rikku and nodding. Together, they came out from their 'hiding places' and aimed their weapons at the --person.

"Don't shoot!" The man in black hollered.

They lowered their weapons, Yuna shouting, "Who are you?"

"Squall Leonhart," the man, Squall, answered. "Do you mind if I come aboard?"

"Rumo luf! Drana'c yhudran airship rana!" Rikku shouted, pointing at an airship not too far away.

"Oh! You're right! Is that yours?" Yuna asked Squall.

"No…it's not, but I know the man who owns it." He glanced back at the airship once before looking back at them. "I pose no threat. I'm armed, but I won't use my weapon on you as long as you don't use yours on me."

She nodded. "Okay, come aboard, then."

He walked up, following them to the elevator, Rikku staring at him curiously.

"Guys, this is Squall Leonhart; Mr. Leonhart, meet Brother-"

"The leader!" Brother shouted.

"-Buddy, Shinra, Rikku, and my name is Yuna."

"Pleasure to meet you, and please, call me Squall." He seemed polite, so far, so Yuna thought it best to start asking questions.

"Do you know where we are, Squall? We do not seem to be on…Spira, anymore…" She lowered her eyes, but raised them to look at Squall as he answered.

"You are on Gaia, in a place called Serengetti Plains. If you come from this…Spira you speak of, then you should know about the other places from Spira that have shown up here."

"Oh! Bevelle? Djose? Kilika? _Besaid?_" She had just started spitting out names.

"Please tell us they're here!" Rikku begged, hoping for the best.

"Yes, they're here, but I'm not sure about this Besaid, thought it could be the island that just showed up." He answered.

'Oh yeah! Now we can see Gippal and Baralai!" Rikku jumped up and down, Yuna smiled and saying, "Yup."

"Gippal? Baralai? You know them?" When he got nods from both girls, a look of worry appeared on his face. "I suggest you come back to Balamb Garden with me. It'll take a while to explain. Follow Ragnarok --the airship outside-- to Garden, and I'll be waiting there for you."

Yuna nodded, watching him leave to go back to that other airship, Ragnarok.

XxXxX

"Oh, wow! This is your Balamb Garden? This doesn't look like any garden _I've_ seen…" Yuna looked at the 'Garden', slightly confused…

Squall shook his head. "No, it's not a garden. It's…a long story; please, follow me." He walked toward the strange structure.

"Hey! Brother! Lusa uh!" Rikku yelled at the Al Bhed who stood there, staring at Ragnarok.

"Yhudran airship… Celcius ec cdemm pyddan!" Brother stomped off to follow Yuna. Rikku shook her head and followed.

Once they were all inside, Squall led them to an elevator, looking back at the others when he stopped in front of it. "It's going to be a tight fit," he told them.

And indeed it was. Thankfully it didn't take them long to reach the top. They stepped out, Squall leading the way past a couple doors and to an older looking man sitting at his desk, looking over some papers.

"Oh, Squall, you're back soon --and with friends. These the people on the airship?" the older man looked at them all, Squall first.

"Yes, it's them. Permission to fill them in on everything?"

"Sure, as long as you know what you're doing," the man said, putting the papers in his hands to the side. "First, my name is Cid, and yours are…"

"My name is Yuna, and this is-"

"Rikku!"

Yuna giggled. "Rikku, Brother, Buddy, and Shinra."

"Pleasure to meet you all. I'll let Squall tell you what's going on --well, all that we know, really."

Squall turned to face them. "If you say you know Gippal and Baralai, then do you know Paine?"

He practically got gasps from everyone --Cid excluded. "We know Paine, she's part of our team. Where is she? _How_ is she? Can we see her?" Yuna asked quickly, obviously worried and happy to hear about Paine. Though, that happiness went away when she realized that something wasn't right…

"I'll start from the beginning… Days ago, Paine showed up outside of Esthar and was taken to the hospital. That's when I first met her, and took her back here to be questioned. She's been here ever since…at least until she was kidnapped when we went to go check out the place she called Bevelle." A couple more gasps, but he continued, "Ever since then, I've been trying to find out where that man would take her, but I've come up with nothing. It was only until yesterday that I found out she _was_ from Spira when I asked an…Al Bhed at Djose."

"Oh my… Paine…" Yuna seemed more shocked than anyone else.

"We still have Gippal and Baralai…right? We can get together and hunt that guy down! …Right?" Rikku looked back and forth between Squall and Yuna.

"Baralai and Gippal weren't at Bevelle and Djose. Bevelle had been empty until yesterday, when New Yevon appeared there. From what the Al Bhed told us, New Yevon had tried to attack Djose because they thought Gippal ordered that machina to attack Bevelle and Baralai."

"That's a big bunch of bologna! Gippal would never do such a thing!" Rikku exclaimed.

"According to the priest at Bevelle, Al Bhed and machina are evil."

"Druca Yevonites tuh'd ghuf fryd drao'na dime ypuid! Drao ica machina duu!" said Rikku, making a face.

Squall looked highly confused, so Yuna translated, "She say those Yevonites don't know what they're talking about and they use machina too."

"You speak Al Bhed?" asked Squall.

She nodded. "I studied it on my travels, and Rikku's helped some."

"We _are_ cousins, Yunie," Rikku wrapped an arm around Yuna's shoulders.

"Since Gippal and them aren't here, and Paine's missing again, I'd say we try to get in touch with Spira. Nooj is hopefully still there," Buddy said, looking sideways at Shinra.

"I'm on it," Shinra quickly walked toward the elevator, going down and toward Celcius.

"How are you supposed to get in touch with Spira?" Squall asked, a bit confused. Again.

"Shinra's a kid genius --literally. He'll have the CommSphere Network up and running before you can say "shoopuf"," explained Buddy.

"What's this CommSphere Network and a…_shoopuf_?" Both Cid and Squall asked.

"Uh… The CommSphere Network is a way of communication in our world, Shinra designed it, and…a shoopuf…is a…um…" Yuna looked at the others, unsure of how to describe a shoopuf to a person from this world. She could hear Brother mumbling something about Ragnarok in Al Bhed…

"It's a large, blue…uh, thing? Heh…" Rikku scratched her head.

"Okay…" Squall shook his head, saying, "Anyway, I can show you to the place you'll be staying at if you're staying here while we look for Paine and your friends."

"Okay," Yuna nodded, hands together in front of her.

XxXxX

"Hey! Come look at this! I think I found something!" shouted a soldier of Esthar, aiming his flashlight at something black. A second man ran up to him; both were in one of the dark cargo rooms in the city of Esthar. They had been doing their daily check-up on the city when one stumbled across something…

"What is it?" asked the second, leaning in to take a closer look.

"I…don't know…" the first poked the black with the tip of his gun. "Hey, it's soft!" he said, surprised. He moved the flashlight's beam up some and gasped. "It's a girl! She doesn't look any older than nine!"

"Quick! Let's get her to the hospital. She doesn't look too good…"

The first soldier was already picking the small, pale body of the girl up when something caught his friend's eyes.

Taking his flashlight, the second soldier aimed it in front of them. "Call back-up. This one's a man, and he looks heavier than the girl."

XxXxX

Squall had shown them each to their room, at least all except Shinra. The kid was still in Celcius, and Leonhart had decided to leave him alone so he could work. As he was going to his own dorm, Yuna walked up to him.

"Is the dorm okay?" he asked.

"Yes, it's very comfortable." She smiled. "But I was wondering if you could take me to Besaid. That's where I grew up at, and I'd like to tell my friends where they are, so they don't panic; though, I'm sure they won't take the news lightly."

"Alright, I'll take you. Let me find Laguna and tell him I'm taking Ragnarok, and then we'll be on our way."

They walked together, him looking for Laguna, her humming a song of some sort. He didn't know what the song was, but it sounded beautiful.

Squall knew Laguna was inside because he saw him follow them in, but not up to Cid's office. Pushing open the doors to the cafeteria, he spotted the man sitting at a table, talking to Rinoa.

"Hey, Squall!" Rinoa waved, smiling.

Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he asked, "How are you?"

'I'm okay. What about you?" She had a touch of worry in her voice.

"I'm fine," he lied, not wanting to worry her. He still felt guilty about the kidnapping of Paine, but he knew he had to get over it. It was harder than it sounded.

Rinoa didn't seem too sure about his answer, but she smiled anyway. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Yuna; Yuna, this is Rinoa."

"Nice to meet you, Rinoa," Yuna bowed slightly.

"Um, nice to meet you, too."

"Laguna, I'm taking Ragnarok." Squall told the man who was eating a sandwich.

"Huh? Why?" Laguna asked, mouth full of food. Swallowing, he looked up at him. "Gonna check out that uh, island?"

"Yes, Yuna would like to."

"Okay, you and miss Yuna can take it." He smiled. "Have it back before dark, kids."

Squall started to walk away, Yuna bowing once more saying, "It was really nice meeting you two," and quickly walking to catch up with Squall.

The two got aboard Ragnarok, Yuna looking around at everything. "Gippal would _love_ to see this," she said, following Squall through a door and to an elevator. "Pretty much _any_ Al Bhed would love to see this."

"Machine crazy, huh?"

She giggled. "Yes, they are. I think they built just about every machina on Spira. Gippal is the leader of the Machine Faction back on Spira. It's all Al Bhed who work there and they focus on repairing on machina, and occasionally trying to build their own from scrap parts."

"It's held at Djose, right?"

"Yes, it is." She lowered her eyes. "It's hard to believe that New Yevon would blame him for what happened; I mean, he would never do such a thing, and they use machina, too."

Squall sat down, immediately starting up the airship. "It shouldn't take us long to get there."

She nodded. "Okay."

They had taken off, and were a good several miles from Garden when a voice came through the walkie-talkie that lay in the chair across from where Yuna sat.

"Mr. Loire! Are you there? Over."

Squall clicked on the Auto Pilot, stood, and walked over to the chair, picking up the walkie-talkie. "No, he's not here, but this is his son, Squall. Over."

"Right, okay, since you're there instead, can you come to Esthar hospital? There's two people here that just…showed up and I thought either you or Mr. Loire would like to know. Over."

"Alright, I'll come check it out. Over and out." He laid the walkie-talkie back down, going back to his seat and taking the controls. Steering Ragnarok in the direction of Esthar, he said to Yuna, "We'll check that island out later, okay?"

"Okay; besides, I'd like to check out these people. They may be Gippal and Baralai." Yuna said, sounding hopeful.

Squall also hoped those people were Gippal and Baralai. Maybe they knew where that man took Paine…

Landing Ragnarok in the Airstation, he got off and walked toward the hospital. He looked behind him once to make sure Yuna followed, which she did, and turned his head back to pay attention to where he was going.

Two soldiers greeted them both when they stepped inside. Squall noticed Yuna had seemed shocked at the way Esthar was, and remembered the look on Paine's face when she had seen a train…

"Where are they?" He asked, knowing the two soldiers would know what it was talking about.

"Follow us, sir," the first one said, walking down the long hallway to the elevator past the nurses' station.

"We found them in the cargo room, both were out cold. We thought the girl was dead because at first she didn't have a pulse."

"A girl?" Squall looked back at Yuna to see if she knew who it could be, but she shook her head 'no'.

After getting off the elevator, they walked to the room a few doors to their right. When one soldier opened the door for them, Yuna gasped, running inside saying "Nooj!"

As Squall walked in, he saw the man, Nooj, lying in a bed, covered up with white sheets. His hair trailed down the side of the bed. Squall could see the machine --or "machina" as the Al Bhed had called it-- arm and leg under the thin sheets. The man was still in his original clothes, he noticed.

"Oh, Nooj!" Yuna was already by his side. "What is this technology?" She asked, referring to the tubes taped to his arms that led to a box.

"It tells his heart rate," he answered, pointing to the metal box that echoed the _beeping_ sound throughout the room. "See? The _beeping_ sound is how fast his heart is going. Right now he's calm and relaxed." The girl in the bed beside Nooj in this small room, caught his attention. Her blonde hair, though short, was spread out slightly on the pillow her head lay on. Eyes still closed, it was impossible to tell what color they man be at this moment, but Squall guessed blue by her hair. "You sure you don't know her?"

Yuna turned her gaze off of Nooj and on the girl. "No… I don't. I've honestly never seen her before." She seemed confused, but sat down in one of the chairs next to Nooj's bed.

_So we've got a mystery girl here,_ he thought as he also decided to sit down.

Al Bhed Translations:

"Hey! Brother! Lusa uh!" -- Hey! Brother! Come on!

"Yhudran airship… Celcius ec cdemm pyddan!" -- Another airship… Celcius is still better!


	18. Nice Lady Not

Setra Kakan: Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

lexalicious: I'll try to be online Tuesday at 10 PM. Somewhere around that time. I'm glad you liked chapter seventeen! Things'll get a lot better in the future chapters.

Regrem Erutaerc: You'll really like the next few chapters. I think they're better than the ones you've already read, but that's just me.

Disclaimer: Same as last time. I only own the stuff I created.

Chapter XVIII

Nice Lady. Not.

By the twanging,  
And the clanging,  
How the danger ebbs and flows;  
Yet the ear distinctly tells,  
In the jangling,  
And the wrangling,  
How the danger sinks and swells… **-Edgar Allan Poe**

XxXxX

_Ding…dong…ding…dong…ding-_

_A bell? What the hell?_

The sound continued, making her head ring loudly along with that bell.

_Bells… I hate bells… Where am I? Opening your eyes could probably help,_ she snapped at herself. Opening her eyes slowly, she knew she wasn't going to like what she saw. _I'm probably in some sort of dungeon._ Eyes fully opened, she saw a………white ceiling. _Okay, so my captors like to live in style and decided to upgrade their dungeon._ She turned her head to the left, seeing a burgundy wall, so she looked to the right --only to see the same thing. Next she raised the blankets-- _Whoa. **Blankets?**_ Raising the heavy blanket quickly, she found a burgundy sheet and under that one was herself, fully dressed.

She lowered the heavier blanket, noticing a weird design on the front. The blanket in all was burgundy, matching the other sheet and walls. Now her red eyes looked forward, and she actually gasped.

She found that the bed she was on was tucked in a nook of a large room. The bed itself looked large, but the room… Straight across from the bed was a _L_ shaped desk that fit perfectly in the right corner of the room --well, from her view it was the right corner. She scooted down the bed, half of it being hidden between the walls. When her feet touched the white carpeted floor, her eyes scanned the room.

Up against the wall on the left side of the bed, there was a small dresser; okay, almost the height of her, she guessed, so it wasn't small.

Next to the dresser, there was a door --closed, of course, and she guessed it was probably locked. And diagonally from that door, directly to her left, was another dresser…and a door, possibly locked as well. Yet another door was on the wall in front of her, close to the left corner. To sum up the large room, was an ugly, square rug in the middle of all this.

She stood, finding herself a bit light-headed even after the surprisingly good sleep, but walked around the room, slowly. First she checked the second door (the one on the left wall), and found it was locked. Checking the door now to her left, it was unlocked! But it was only a small storage room with only boxes in it. Deciding to search the boxes later, she checked the last door.

When she peered inside, her eyes went wide. _Such a…large bathroom…_she found herself thinking. Normally, she wouldn't let herself get surprised like this, but her head hurt and the bell sound wasn't helping.

The tub was large and in the left corner of the room. There was a commode next to that, and a double sink on the right wall, near the commode. A small dresser was to her left, and a single, oval rug was on the tile floor. This one looked better than the other rug, she thought. To her right, she noticed there was a door.

_Be unlocked and the exit._ She prayed, though she wasn't really a religious person, unlike Baralai, but anything looked good in her situation. _What **is** my situation, exactly? A guy kidnaps me after beating the hell outta me, then gives me this room like I was a queen._ She smirked. _Someone feels sorry._ Opening the door, she glanced inside, hopeful. _Ah cred. Another closet --or bedroom by its size._ It was indeed a closet, but a large, square, walk-in one. One dresser to her left, one in front of her on the back wall, and a line of clothes hanging to the left and right. _Damn, someone likes dressers, too._

She closed the door, surprised by the size of the room, yet disappointed that it had been a closet rather than an exit.

XxXxX

"So rayt…" He sat up, rubbing the back of his head where a bump was. "Rayt bmic cduha vmuun axiymc pisb uh rayt," he mumbled, ringing in his ears.

"Gippal, oui'na yfyga!"

He opening his eye to find that he wasn't alone. Two other Al Bheds were in the room with him. "Uh, oayr, E's yfyga. Yhouha ghuf frana fa yna?" he asked, hoping either knew the answer, but both shook their heads 'no'. "Okay…so we're in a nice, gloomy lookin' room that has a strange smell. Things couldn't get better." Looking around the metal room and stone floor, he found only one door and absolutely-positively _no_ windows or other sign of life; except for that ugly looking bug crawling on the floor…

"Tu oui nasaspan fryd rybahat?" asked on of the Al Bhed, the tallest and more muscular of the bunch. He was also the oldest of them, being in his mid-thirties.

"Oayr, E nasaspan; dryd storm red ic yht dra Yevonites." Gippal slowly stood, the soft ringing still there. "Tuac aedran uv oui rayn nehkehk uh ec ed Zicd sa?"

The oldest looked at him for a second, then tilted his head, listening. "Oac, E rayn dra nehkehk."

The other Al Bhed, also being older than Gippal, nodded, agreeing with both of them. "E tu, duu."

"I think we're all losing it…" Gippal said, examining the room again. "Goin' crazy in a place like this look easy to do."  
Neither Al Bhed understanding him, they didn't bother to ask for a translation. They kew that if it was important, he would have spoken in his native language.

He spoke again, this time in Al Bhed. "Aedran uv oui pnehk food?"

"Hu; ed'c Zicd mega oui du drehg uv food yd y desa mega drec." the oldest said.

"E ryja y vane fa'na kuhhy pa rana vun y frema." He responded. For the life of him, he couldn't think of either Al Bheds' names; they had both joined the Machine Faction a little less than a month ago, being brothers, but Gippal never had a chance to get ot know them like he did the others. He'd just call them Big Guy and Little Guy for now; introductions could come later after they got out of here, and not in a body bag or coffin. He'd prefer to get out alive and in one piece, but that may have just been him.

Big guy looked around the room, obviously examining like he had been just moments ago. Gippal walked around, stepping on the bug, saying, "Well it's just us three now." Both Big Guy and Little Guy looked at him. "Fryd? Ed luimt ryja paah y camera, un cusadrehk." Hey, he could've been right.

"I see you and your friends like your new home."

All three turned toward the source of the voice --a woman that they could see through the small barred window of the metal door.

"Who're you?" Gippal asked, knowing she probably wouldn't answer.

"Your worst nightmare."

"Nah, you ain't even close. My worst nightmare was about-"

"Shut up! I didn't give you permission to speak! You are my prisoner and you _will_ listen to me!" the woman yelled.

"Yes, your Ugliness." Gippal put both hands on the back of his hips. "So why are we here, anyway? We're obviously not your dinner guests."

"You are here because you are. Now shut up and behave or I'll feed you to the dogs." She started to walk away, making Gippal run to the door and shout through the bars.

"At least _something_ around here gets fed! Aren't you gonna feed _us_? Even prisoners eat!" When she didn't answer, nor turn around, he continued, "Fine then, you ugly-tattooed-face-woman!" He pushed off of the door, now leaning against it. "Well, she was nice."

"Gippal?"

"Baralai? Okay, now I seriously think I'm losing it."

"No, you're not; I'm in the next room."

He walked over to the wall on his left. "Baralai?"

"Yes?"

_Yup, he's definitely on the other side._ "How are you? Me and Nooj were worried _sick_ about you."

"I'm in…okay condition. And you'll be glad to hear that she _does_ feed us."

"Oh…heh… That's good to know. So, anyone else in there with you?"

"No, just me. What about you? I heard other voices in there."

"Ah, just a couple other Al Bhed. Guess she wanted me to have some friends over." Gippal leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Any windows in there?"

"No, just a door."

He heard movement on the other side. _Probably just Baralai trying to get comfortable in a place like this…_ he thought. "How long have you been there?"

"I don't know. Possibly ever since I disappeared from Bevelle. You?"

"Ever since Djose disappeared, I guess.

"Why were you at Djose? I thought you were with Nooj?"

He slid down the wall, sitting with one knee up and his other leg stretched out. "I went back to get some rest, when New Yevon came-a-knockin'."

"What?"

"New Yevon came to Djose thinking' I ordered the machina to attack you and Bevelle. Bunch of crap, if you ask me. I've never thought about doing something like that and I never will."

"I promise you I'll get everything straightened out when we get back to Spira."

"Don't worry 'bout it; I know you will. First we just gotta get out alive."

"Agreed. Once we get out of these rooms, it may be wise to search for our weapons."

"Right." Gippal looked at the other two. "Tet oui dfu rybbah du ryja yho faybuhc uh oui frah fa tecybbaynat?"

"Hu, E teth'd," Big Guy said.

"Haedran tet E," said Little Guy.

"We're just looking for our weapons, then. Maybe some extra and a couple for them two." Gippal reported to Baralai.

"Okay." More movement on the other side.

"Does she feed us herself, or what?" He asked.

"A guard does, that's only her second time coming here, at least that I know of."

"What was the first time?"

"To come speak to me. At least _I _got more information out of her." There was a touch of humor in his voice.

Gippal chuckled. "Hey, you never wanna mess with me when I'm hungry, tired, and have a huge bump on my head the size of a freakin' blitzball."

"A blitzball, eh? Well I've got a wound that has fresh blood oozing out of it."

"Ah man. You've got me beat by a mile." Both started laughing, the other Al Bheds confused.

"Once we find our weapons, I'll look for a potion for ya or somethin'. Don't want you to pass out from blood loss while we're trying to escape this rammruma."

"You're going to need it more than I am 'cause we'll have to figure out if you're thinking straight or not, and that's going to be a tough job considering you already don't think straight."

"Heeeey… I think as straight as you'll _ever_ think." Gippal said, both he and Baralai bursting into laughter a second later.

XxXxX

She now sat on the large bed, legs crossed, her leaned back on her hands. _All that I've managed to figure out is that my captors live in style, or at least their prisoners do._ Sighing, she fell backwards on the bed. _There must be a way out… My sword and backpack are gone, so I'm weaponless. And I can't change dresspheres, so pretty much, I'm screwed._ She wasn't _completely_ weaponless, though; she could still do hand-to-hand combat. But how would that help her escape this room?

"Maybe there's something in those boxes…" She rose to her feet and walked toward the storage room --when something caught her eye. _Now why didn't I see that before?_ A smirk appeared on her face. _Time to ditch this room._

On the roof, a few feet away from the wall, there was a large vent with a metal cover. From here it looked like she could fit; though, it'd be a _tight_ fit, she didn't care. If she could just _reach_ it…

Looking at the nearby dresser, that smirk grew into a smile. "Bingo." She only got to take one step toward the dresser, when she heard the vent above start to blow out air. When she looked up at it, she saw light green air coming through the holes of the metal cover. "Ah shit-" was all she managed to say before the gas hit her and she fell to the ground.

XxXxX

"I'm really getting tired of this," she said, sitting up. She was back on that large bed, head pounding, bell ringing.

"Good evening, Paine."

"What?" The voice was a man's, but the ringing sound blocked out most of what he said. Aside from that, her vision was blurry for some reason.

"The side effects of the sleeping gas should wear off soon."

"You mean there's other _side effects_ other than falling asleep?" She asked, slight sarcasm in her voice, but the effects were slowly wearing off like he had said.

He chuckled. "Yes, for this kind there are. Can you see me?"

Paine narrowed her eyes a bit, trying to focus on the dark figure standing in front of the bed. "Turning on a light would help."

"If you say so." He clapped his head, and in a second, there was a bright light, surprising her and sending her face first down in a pillow.

"Okay! Okay! Turn it off!"

Another clapping sound. She kept her eyes closed as she took her face out of the pillow, knowing the light had temporarily blinded her. Waiting a few seconds, she opened her eyes, then let them adjust to the darkness. When they had, she aw the ma, but he almost blended in with the darkness. "So who are you and why did you kidnap me?"

"How do you know if I'm the one who kidnapped you?"

"Your voice --I recognize it." Sitting up fully, she leaned back on the pillows behind her. "So why?"

"Because it is what my boss ordered."

"Was beating the hell outta me part of these _orders_?"

He moved, sitting on the bed, making her sit up more and stare at him. "My boss would like you to join her for dinner."

She took his reply as a 'no' to her question. "And I'd like to leave."

"Get ready and a guard will escort you to and from the dining room. Don't even _think_ about trying to escape, cameras are all around this place." He stood, still making Paine feel uncomfortable. "And please, be on your best behavior. Dinner's at six." With that said, he left the room, the soft _click_ sound of the door locking behind him a second later.

A/N: XD Two lines in the chapter and I rhyme! I'm good! Okay, so I suck at rhyming, but still… I hadn't meant for it to rhyme like that… Oh well. Like usual, Al Bhed translations are below, since there was a lot of Al Bhed in this chapter. I do hope you enjoyed it.

Al Bhed Translations:

"So rayt…" -- My head…

"Rayt bmic cduha vmuun axiymc pisb uh rayt," -- Head plus stone floor equals bump on head.

"Gippal, oui'na yfyga!" -- Gippal, you're awake!

"Uh, oayr, E's yfyga. Yhouha ghuf frana fa yna?" -- Uh, yeah, I'm awake. Anyone know where we are?"

"Tu oui nasaspan fryd rybbahat?" -- Do you remember what happened?

"Oayr, E nasasban; dryd storm red ic yht dra Yevonites." -- Yeah, I remember; that storm hit us and the Yevonites.

"Tuac aedran uv oui rayn nehkehk un ec ed zicd so?" -- Does either of you hear ringing or is it just me?

"Oac, E rayn dra nehkehk." --Yes, I hear the ringing.

"E tu, duu." -- I do, too.

"Aedran uv oui pnehk food?" -- Either of you bring food?

"Hu; ed'c zicd mega oui du drehg uv food yd y desa mega drec." -- No; it's just like you to think of food at a time like this.

"E ryja y vaamehk fa'na kuhhy ba rana vun y frema." -- I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while.

"Fryd? Ed luimt ryja paah y camera, un cusadrehk." -- What? It could have been a camera, or something.

"Tet oui dfu rybbah du ryja yho faybuhc un oui frah fa tecybbaynat?" -- Did you two happen to have any weapons on you when we disappeared?

"Hu, E teth'd," -- No, I didn't.

"Haedran tet E," -- Neither did I.


	19. What One Doesn't Expect, Happens

Disclaimer: Do I really hafta repeat this? Fine… I will… But only because I'd like NOT to get sued. I only own the things that I created. That's pretty much it. Oh, and the plot. The plot and my creations are MINE.

Chapter XIX

What One Doesn't Expect, Happens

_**All** that we see or seem  
__Is but a dream within a dream. _**-Edgar Allan Poe**

XxXxX

"So you've known Paine for about a year?"

Yuna looked at the man in the chair beside her. "Yes, she had joined the Gullwings shortly before I had," she answered. While Nooj rested, she had explained most things about her and Spira to Squall. She hadn't told him much about what she knew about Paine because she didn't think it would be right if she did; it was Paine's past, she would tell him if she wanted him to know.

"Nooj-" She moved to stand by his bed as he slowly sat up.

"Where…am I?"

"You are in, um," she looked back at the man in black. "Esthar hospital?"

"Yeah, Esthar hospital," he had nodded, then continued speaking, "A couple guards found you and your friend and brought you straight here."

"Esthar…friend?" As if all memory of what happened came back to him in a sudden rush, his eyes went wide. "The girl, how is she?" He sat up fully, reaching over to the table beside the bed for his glasses. He put them on and looked at Yuna and Squall. "Yuna, you're okay."

"Yes, I am fine."

"But…the girl?"

"She…is not okay," the man answered. "The doctors say she may be in a coma."

"What! No, no, no, that can't be true-" Nooj was shocked by this, anyone could tell. But when he looked over at the girl in the bed next to his, he lowered his eyes. "Perhaps she'll wake up…soon…"

"They say if she hasn't woken up by now, she's not ever."

Yuna put a hand on Nooj's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "No, it's not your fault. She obviously knew what she was doing."

"What do you mean?" the man asked, a bit confused.

"First, who are you and where are the others?"

"Name's Squall Leonhart," Squall answered, leaning back in his seat.

"And as for the others, they are safe. We arrived here in Gala this morning, but they are at Balamb Garden now." Yuna reassured him. "But what happened to you? Did the storm hit Mushroom Rockroad, too?"

He nodded, saying, "Yes," he decided to start from the beginning, so he leaned back on the pillows. "The three of us --Gippal, Baralai, and myself-- were at HQ when Baralai had to go back to Bevelle. I don't know why exactly, though… That's when machina attacked and the storm hit. Haven't seen Baralai since…"

"And Gippal?" asked Yuna, worriedly.

"He… The girl wanted us to get some rest before she answered some of our questions, and Gippal wanted to check up on the Al Bhed, so he went back. It was only until morning that I got up and Gippal contacted me through the CommSphere. He told me about New Yevon being there and that he could handle them himself. Later, he contacted me again. The storm had shown up. And that's when I got disconnected from Djose."

"And what about the…girl?"

He looked over at Squall. "I don't know much about her. Not even a name; but she's been helping us, kind of. She was the one who told us Paine was here, in Gala, and that she was safe, but that was days ago. Before the storm hit HQ, we had been attacked by a fiend she called T-Rexaur. The battle went…well…"

"But?" Yuna looked at him; she knew there was a 'but', and no matter how much Nooj didn't want to tell them, he knew he may have to. Maybe. "…only after the battle, did this man show up. He tried to convince me Paine wasn't all right, but I didn't believe him. He had something to do with both Gippal's and Baralai's disappearance, I just know it. After he…_disappeared_, the storm hit us and strangely, we appeared here." He didn't exactly _lie_, just didn't tell all of the truth.

"Did this man have black hair and wear black and red clothing?"

He looked at Squall, surprised. "Y-yes, yes he did. How did you know?"

"Because that man is the person who kidnapped Paine just days ago," he answered, slowly.

"What!"

"I had been…watching her up until the time she ran off at Bevelle, looking for Baralai. I…thought since the place was empty… I…didn't know he was there and that he was after her. If I had known-" _I had been stupid. I should have ran after her. If I did, would she still be here?_ Squall pondered. _No, I have to focus on the present; I've learned my lesson before._

Nooj remembered what the girl told him and the others about the group Paine was --_had_ been with. "You couldn't have known. That man, he's not human."

"I know…" Leonhart had a stern look in his eyes, obviously remembering back to when he first met the man.

"I don't get it. Why did he want Paine? Why isn't Gippal and Baralai here if you're here? All of this is so…confusing." Yuna sat down and put her hands in her lap.

Nooj sort of knew the answer to the second question: the girl brought him here, but how --he didn't know.

The lights above flickered, making all three look up at them. A second time flickering, then they blew; the room completely dark. It didn't help that it was almost night outside, as Nooj, and probably the others, just noticed.

"What the hell?" Squall walked over to the door a second later, looking out into the hall. "Where is everyone?" Stepping back inside and closing the door, he looked at them. "No one's out there."

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

He flinched when that female laugh echoed throughout the hospital. _It sounds…almost familiar…_ he thought, curious about the laugh, yet confused; that person _had_ to be the reason why the power went out, right? But…why? The laughing echoed away, leaving three very confused people in the now silent room. Squall slowly walked further into the room, glancing around as if to make sure that they _were_ the only ones in the room. He looked as confused as Nooj and Yuna felt. But something seemed to catch his eye…

He walked over to the window, looking out into the darkness. It appeared that all of the city had lost all power, also. But that's not what caught his attention… It was the glowing red eyes that seemed to stare back at him. As the eyes stared at him, a shiver went up his spine.

"What's wrong?"

He blinked, hearing the voice of Yuna, but now as he looked outside, the eyes were gone. "I thought I saw something."

"There's nothing now," Nooj stated, now standing beside him. He hadn't even heard him get up because he was so focused on those eyes… "Who do you think was the one laughing?"

"I don't know," he said, still not completely focused… Something nagged at his mind; that _something_ he knew, yet, he didn't. He couldn't quite figure out what that _something_ was…

XxXxX

For probably the first time in years, he thought while walking. It was _what_ he was thinking about that would surprise a lot of people. That woman… That damn woman that kicked his ass… He wasn't thinking about her hatefully, nor lovingly. Worriedly? Yes, but as to why? Oh, he knew. He liked her; the woman had guts, especially to stand up to him. She was also strong --any moron could tell-- both physically _and_ mentally. Most of the time he was _sure_ she knew what she was doing.

So why was he worried, exactly? He knew --no, had a _feeling_ that something bad was going on; I mean, someone freakin' kidnapped the woman he almost envied. Almost. But he felt that things were going to go from bad to we're-all-going-to-hell-in-a-matter-of-minutes worse. This situation, whatever it was, was not good nor normal. His gut told him that evil, an impossibly amount, was out there, somewhere.

Too stuck in his own thoughts, he bumped into someone --or rather, they ran into him, literally.

"Oh, sorry!" She giggled. "Guess I need to pay attention to where I'm walking more often."

He looked down at the girl. Blonde hair, but that's not what caught his eye. Strangely, it wasn't the bikini she wore; it was her freaky lookin' eyes. Green and swirled… He didn't remember seeing her here before. "What's your name?" he asked, nearly forgetting that she had ran into him.

"Rikku! What's yours?"

"Seifer… Hey, you just arrive here or somethin'?"

She nodded, hair following her movement. "Yeah. What happened to your face?"

He just remembered that the spot where Paine had hit him had bruised up around his left cheek. "Got hurt during a fight. You're not from around here, are you?"

"Nope."

_Neither was Paine._ "Do you know someone named-" He didn't get to finish the question he didn't even know why he was asking.

A blond (what hair he had left) young man in trousers and tattoos elsewhere, walked up to them, his eyes the same freaky color as Rikku's.

"Rikku! You are not to talk to strangers while we are here."

"Hey! You ain't the boss of me! Besides, he isn't a stranger. Brother, meet Seifer; Seifer, meet my brother, uh, Brother."

"I don't want to know him! He is a stranger and strangers are bad!" Brother shouted.

"Since when did you become so paranoid?" asked Rikku, tilting her head to the side.

"Tuh'd oui vunkad fryd rybbahet du Paine. Cra dymgat du cdnyhdanc yht cra tecybbaynat," said Brother in this freaky, _freaky_ language.

"Hu, cra fyc gethybbat, oui sunuh! Gethybbat!"

Seifer just looked at Brother. He may not have been able to understand their freaky language, but he understood the "Paine" part. "Wait, you know Paine?"

"Yeah, sure do. She's one of my best buds! She may not have talked much, but I could tell she liked me," Rikku winked, looking at Seifer. "You know her too?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Stay away from my sister. Go, go!"

He wasn't even threatening his _sister_… "I'd like to see you _try_ to make me leave." He stood at his true height, which was taller than Brother.

"Uh, Brother…look at the _size_ difference. He's like a shoopuf while you're this tiny moogle." Rikku demonstrated the sizes with her hands; stretching her arms our wide for the shoopuf, whatever the hell _that_ was, and then putting her hands in front of her, a foot away from each other for the _moogle_.

_Okay, they're both insane. What the hell is a **shoopuf?**_ He didn't really care about the _moogle_ because obviously it was small, but the shoopuf… He thought he should be taking _that_ as an insult.

While the two argued in their very freaky language, he turned and walked away.

"Oh, Seifer…"

He froze, the voice sounding familiar, yet…not… As he looked around, he saw that he wasn't alone, but it was merely just the other kids here in Garden. So it could've been anyone here, but something told him it wasn't.

"Seifer…"

_Now this is seriously creeping me out…_ He looked around again, everything here, other than him, was calm. Slowly, he started walking again, this time toward the dormitory. Maybe he just needed sleep…

"Amazing how you kan ignore me so well."

He stopped, turned, and walked toward the infirmary. _Dr. K. will just tell me I'm going crazy and need to be put in the asylum._ But seriously, that voice sounded familiar…

"Sleep tight."

"What?" His vision started to blur.

XxXxX

Trepe had been coming from the west side of Garden when she saw Seifer walking in her direction. She normally watched the man closely, but this time it was different. She watched him now because she was worried about him, not because she was worried about others' safety.

His face was unusually pale, and he used the wall for balance as he walked. "Almasy, are you all right?" she asked, walking closer to him. She took his answer as a 'no' as he collapsed against the wall, falling to a sitting position. Moving quickly, she was right beside him. "Someone call Dr. Kadowaki!"

XxXxX

"Is he going to be all right?" Quistis asked, looking at Dr. Kadowaki. The expression on her face told her the news was not good.

"I'm sorry, he…appears to be in a coma."

"What? But --how?" This shocked Quistis.

The doctor shook her head. "I don't know. I'm as confused about this as I am about Paine's condition. I suggest you tell Squall about this; he's at the Esthar hospital."

Trepe nodded and walked over to the phone. She dialed the correct number and waited. Nothing, not even a busy signal.

_"This is Cid Kramer. Will the following people come up to my office: Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt, Laguna Loire, Rikku, Brother, Buddy, and Shinra."_ He repeated the list of names once more before he clicked off the intercom.

Hanging up the phone, Quistis left and headed for the elevator. She was more than curious about what Cid wanted to talk to them about, and the other names he said. Who was this Rikku? And Brother?

XxXxX

Cid stood near the window, looking out at the dark sky in the distance. What worried him the most was what Edea had told him; Rinoa had had the same feeling that Edea had, and with both being sorceresses… He was highly worried.

The last of the people he called stepped into the room --he noticed it was Quistis as he turned around. Now that everyone now stood in the room, the new people on one side of the room, the others on the other side, he decided to explain why he had called them. Rinoa, being the one who was the first to be in the room, sat in the chair, legs stretched out.

"I have called you all here today because we have a big problem," he started, putting his hands behind his back. "A couple days ago, our guest, Paine, was kidnapped --by whom, we don't know yet, we are still looking into that." He adjusted his glasses with one hand as he continued, "And now, just minutes ago, both Edea and Rinoa come to me, saying that they sensed a familiar evil within Garden. Fortunately, they were able to identify who it was. It is _who_ it is that worries me."

Getting worried looks from the ones form Garden, and confused looks from the off-worlders, Cid decided to explain --mainly for the off-worlders, who listened curiously.

"Four months ago, the group to your left, plus Squall, defeated a dangerous enemy. That enemy's name was Ultimecia, the sorceress from the future. Ultimecia had tried to put the world in 'Time Compression'; now, she's up to something else."

"You mean she's--" Quistis' eyes were wide, jaw dropped in a silent gasp.

"So witch lady's back?" Zell punched the air. "We can kick her ass like we did last time."

"It won't be that easy, Zell," Edea explained, walking to stand beside her husband. "She is up to something, and it's not like her to just show up and disappear seconds later."

"Seifer…"

All looked at Quistis. "You mean the guy in the trench coat?" asked Rikku.

"Yes, that's Almasy," Quistis let her hands fall down to her sides. "I found Seifer in the hall, and he didn't look too well, so I went to check up on him. He passed out and is now in the infirmary."

"Does Dr. Kadowaki know what's wrong with him?" Edea asked, very worried.

"Yes, I do," Dr. Kadowaki entered the room. "Seifer is in a coma. How he got in one, it's a mystery."

"Thank you, doctor. But do you know if he'll recover?" Cid placed his hands on the desk.

"I honestly can't tell. He could wake up in an hour, or a year." Dr. K. explained.

Removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes, Cid sighed heavily. "Quistis, I would like you to stay here and watch over Seifer, while the rest fly over to Esthar to get Squall and Yuna. I can't seem to get through to them via telephone --nor anywhere in Esthar, for some odd reason."

"But didn't Squall take Ragnarok?" asked Quistis, crossing her arms.

"Yes, but I was hoping Brother would be kind and let us borrow Celcius." Cid looked at Brother, a hopeful look on his face.

Sighing and hunching over slightly, Brother waved his left hand. "Fine, fine. You may borrow Celcius," he straightened and pointed at himself. "but _I_ am the pilot!"

Al Bhed Translations:

"Tuh'd oui vunkad fryd rybbahet du Paine. Cra dymgat du cdnyhdanc yht cra tecybbaynat," -- Don't you forget what happened to Paine. She talked to strangers and she disappeared.

"Hu, cra fyc gethybbat, oui sunuh! Gethybbat!" -- No, she was kidnapped, you moron! Kidnapped!


	20. Time to Play, Kitty

A/N: For the first time, this chapter is dedicated to the enemy, for being such a good enemy. Thanks to all who have read this far and reviewed. Things will most definitely get more interesting in the chapters ahead--including this one. Read, enjoy, and review! Oh, and remember any of my characters in here. As a hint: this won't be the last time you see them, no matter how minor they seem.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and the things I created.

Chapter XX

Time to Play, Kitty

Only what proves itself to every man  
And woman is so,  
Only what nobody denies is so.** -Walt Whitman**

XxXxX

When the sound of doors opening and closing behind her echoed throughout the large room, a pleasant smile crept on her face; she needn't turn around to know who entered the room.

"I'm so glad you kould join me, Seymour," her voice was smooth, the way she spoke and moved showed she had power, and she knew how to use it. As she turned around to face him, the smile stayed.

"And I am glad to be here," he walked further into the barely lit room; the only form of light in the room were the torches on the stone walls.

"You wish to speak to me about…?"

Your plans, Ms. Ultimecia," he kept his hands by his sides and his eyes locked with hers. "Since I have been here, you have not told me _exactly_ what you are planning."

The smile slowly disappeared, her face looking more serious. "My plans, exaktly," she started, raising her hands, palms up, as she continued, "are simply to get my revenge and take over the world. Of kourse, I have realized that I kannot do this alone, and those pesky SeeDs will, more than likely, get in my way."

"These SeeDs, as you call them, how do you plan to stop them? If they have defeated you once before, surely they can do it again, can they not?" He walked to his left, stopping after a few feet, and turning to face her. "And this time, they have help --Lady Yuna and her friends are among them."

"Yes, I am aware of that; after all, I _was_ the one who sent the beast into Spira, to gather my prey and send others here." Her voice sounded proud --for she was very pleased with what she had done. Letting that beast loose had been the beginning of her plans, and it had worked _beautifully._

"True, true. You did send that monstrosity out."

"If you don't mind, I have somewhere that I have to be, now, but you are more than welkome to join me," she headed for the door.

"Time is something I have a lot of." He turned and followed her out the door. Together, they turned left and headed for a door in the corner. Once they were through, it only took them a second to enter an elevator on the left wall and head down. They passed B2 , and stopped at B3, exiting and walking out of the room to a hallway that turned right further down.

Passing three doors and turning left at the end of the long hall, they walked until they reached a turn to the left. They turned the corner instead of continuing straight, where it looked like it dead-ended a couple hundred yards away. This time they turned right, walking down yet another long hall that opened up at the end to the left. There was a single door to the right at the end of the hall, and where the hall opened up, there were eight solid cages: four on both sides.

Ahead of that, there was a long, metal bridge with water beneath it. At the end of that bridge, there was a door, three guards standing by it and one man in a white coat with a clipboard in hand.

"And how is my prisoner, doktor?" asked Ultimecia, looking at the metal door, then at the doctor.

"He is doing marvelous, madam. His blood work is great, as usual, and he's been eating like he should," the doctor reported, shivering slightly in hers and Seymour's presence.

"That's wonderful news. Kontinue your work." She turned, and she and Seymour started back they way they came.

Seymour glanced back once before asking, "Who is this prisoner you speak of?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," was her reply, that sneaky smile had found its way back on her face.

XxXxX

Kate Hanningson entered the meeting room, also known as the Study. The room wasn't very large, so the oval shaped table took up most of the room --except for the nook to her right which held filing cabinets.

She smoothed out her white lab coat before sitting in her assigned seat next to a brown haired man that looked to be military.

"Good evening, Mr. Syuven," she greeted the man, nodding slightly.

"Good evenin'," he replied, leaning back in his chair.

"Now that most of us are here," started a man in his late forties, with brown hair and beard. He adjusted his glasses before continuing, "we can start."

Kate glanced over at the empty chair to the right of her at the end of the table, and straight ahead of her, next to Dr. Alan, the man who thinks he's special. At the other end sat an Asian woman with short black hair cut chin-length. Cerah Yang was her name, and in Kate's mind, Ms. Yang was fifty times a better scientist that Dr. Alan was, or would ever be.

"Where are Tatte and Mev?" Kate asked _Dr._ Alan, curious as to where exactly the two men were.

"Ms. Ultimecia had already given them a job weeks ago. Did you not get the message?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I didn't," Kate wasn't surprised. Dr. Alan was the messenger, and he never _did_ like her…

"Oh well." Dr. Alan straightened his glasses once more. "Let's begin. Dr. Yang, what are the updates on your creatures?"

Cerah folded her arms on top of some folders. "The _Lf _breed, also known as WolvenX, is developing faster than expected. They can now successfully kill a pack of lions with ease, and only after a week of practice. They strength, speed, _everything _has increased." She looked over at the wall to her left as a howl came from the other side. "And they are more intelligent than any human being."

_As is all of her creatures,_ thought Kate. Yang put her heart and soul into creating those creatures, something that she doubted Tom Alan did with his.

"And _Lf _'sbrother?" Dr. Alan didn't seem at _all_ impressed.

"The _Ic _breed --Hell Hound-- is not progressing as fast as its brother, but is still moving at a good speed. The poison in its tail has become deadly and it can kill a full grown man in under two hours, if not given the antidote. But its only at its second stage," continued Yang.

"The cats? How are they doing?" Kate asked before Alan had the time.

"I'm glad you asked, Dr. Hanningson. The cats are progressing at a faster speed than the WolvenX. _Ah _--Sabenoth-- is hunting more stealthy than its brother, Spikelos --for short, _Lh_--, while the Spikelos is more strength and skill. But both sneak up on their prey, the Sabenoth is just more skilled in the area."

"And the…" Dr. Alan had to hold back a laugh. "_rats_?"

Cerah looked angry, you could also tell by her voice as she spoke. "The _Cm_s --Romidon-- are doing marvelous. They can easily rip a man to tiny pieces in a matter of seconds. If you don't believe me, I can give you a demonstration." Her brown eyes glared at Alan as she finished her sentence.

"And how are your two, Tom?"

All looked at Mitch Syuven., surprised that he actually spoke. Usually he just sat back and listened. He was only there to survey their meetings, and report them to Ms. Ultimecia. Also, he trained the soldiers that worked for Ms. Ultimecia --actually, Kate didn't know of anyone who didn't wok for her, other than the prisoners, who were too out of their minds to tell the difference between dead or alive.

"The _Gp_s and B.D.Bs are in great shape, thank you very much. All are progressing faster than I'd hoped, and I'm actually expecting a _baby_ Gemini in…a matter of days, possibly."

Kate wanted to smack that smug grin off his face. _I think he just called this meeting to _gloat_ about his Geminis and B.D.Bs._

"I would like to demonstrate how well the Spikelos are," Cerah said suddenly, regarding what Dr. Alan had said.

Alan raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, now?" Receiving a nod from Yang, he chuckled. "Fine. I hope you know what prey you'll be using to lure your kitty-cat out of hiding."

"I was thinking _you_, but then I'd lose my job." Yang stood, picking up her folders. "Follow me, please."

They walked to the main lab room, which was in the far left corner of the building, south of the elevators. When they entered the room, Cerah immediately went around the curved control desk in front of a large computer screen and started pressing buttons.

Sounds of machines working in the distance could be heard. A few more seconds of that sound, and it stopped.

"Spikelos and prey have entered the room," informed Cerah.

Kate knew of the room she was talking about. It was an area filled with lots of plants, the room being connected to the B.D.Bs' main cage. The only thing that stopped them from getting out and roaming the Play Room, as Kate had always called it, was a thick, metal door.

With one more press of a button, the large computer screen flickered on and they could now see the tress and bushes inside the Play Room.

XxXxX

He stumbled through the bushes, falling to his hands and knees when he tripped over something. Eyes wide and face pale, his body trembled like that of a paranoid man. He glanced down, afraid to see what had tripped him, yet curious. He regretted his decision not even a second later. There, on the ground, was what had tripped him.

He let out a terrified scream, unable to take his eyes off of the bloody remains of what had once been whole and human. Seeing the blood on his pants' legs, he frantically tried to get it off with his hands, only resulting in him screaming again when the blood smeared on his pale skin.

Quickly turning around and crawling further into the maze of trees and plants of all kinds, he stopped suddenly when he just happened to look down and see no blood on his hands. He hesitated a moment, swallowing hard before he glanced back, seeing no remains, nor any blood on his pants.

He sighed heavily, thankful it was just in his head, _like all the other times_, he silently reminded himself. His mind couldn't tell what was real and what _wasn't_ anymore--

--a sound. Bushes moving. Eyes wide, once more, he looked around, praying it was just in his head. "I-I know yu-you're out th-there," he said, trying to make himself sound brave, but knowing he failed.

XxXxX

He crouched, hearing a new, interesting sound, once he'd heard before, yet different. He could _sense_ the fear in the voice as it spokecould _smell_ it. Ah, yes, new prey. New frightened, smelled-so-_delicious_ prey.

Being rather large --three feet at the shoulder, he heard their master say-- and built of pure muscle, he found it sometimes difficult to run in such a place as this. But now--now he didn't particularly mind.

He heard movement only five yards away --it was his new prey, he knew it. He had nothing to fear about this creature; from the smell of it, it was as scared as that long-eared creature he had for breakfast earlier.

Staying low to the ground, he shortened the distance between him and his prey, until he could _taste_ its flesh as he watched it look around, pure terror in its eyes. His prey was a male version of his and the others' master. Except this one was more frightened than he has ever seen their master get.

XxXxX

He jumped at everything he heard, then all was silent. The person out there scaring him, they were gone! _He_ had scared _them_!

Proud of what he had done all by himself, he slowly stood, a smile on his face. "Yeah, you know who's the boss, don't you? Run like a scared coward! You don't scare me!" He let out a loud, nervous laugh, suddenly feeling even _more_ proud of himself as he laughed even louder and longer. "You don't scare me!" He repeated, voice more steady this time.

Silence. His laughed subsided, leaving him all alone in the frightening silence. "He-hello?" He looked around nervously, eyes still very much wide. Still _nothing_. Not even birds.

Birds… how ironic that he remembered what birds sound like, even after four months of being down here, ten years in an asylum in, what was it? Esthar? Oh, yes, he remembered Esthar, too. He once had a family there --but since they were murdered, by him, the cops and everyone else had said, _damn them to Hell for blaming me,_ he had been locked away…

He was happy, thinking about his beloved family; the life he once had; Esthar; birds… You could tell by the smile on his face, and the way his eyes looked, as if he was staring at some far away place.

After a few moments of being in his "happy place", his eyes focused --and he jumped up and turned so suddenly, that there was a sting of pain in his head, but he didn't care; he ran, half stumbling over his own feet, half screaming in his mind. It chased after him --he could hear it! The heavy breathing, heave footsteps pounding after him. He wanted scream, to think and say it wasn't real, to calm down his racing heart and the pounding in his ears, but knew he couldn't --it wasn't possible!

--and then he tripped, or it jumped on his back --he couldn't tell, it was all the same to him. As he hit the ground, only one though ran through his mind, _it's going to eat me!_ He heard soft bird singing in his ears, as if to calm him down, but it wasn't working. And his soul was finally allowed to sleep as all went black…

XxXxX

He had been chasing his prey, enjoying the fact that it ran. His prey was fast, for a two-legger. Then, suddenly, his prey tripped over its own feet, falling to the ground, then turning to look in his direction.

He stood there, starting at his prey as it stared back with wide, terrified eyes. And then, he was startled --jumping slightly--, something inside his prey's chest exploding, sending blood and chunks of skin on everything nearby. He slowly crept up to his prey's body as it hit the ground, completely still. Now that he stood and looked down at the body, he saw a hole in the left side of its chest.

XxXxX

A man in his mid-twenties was pushing a large cart, on it were cages, small and medium sized. In the small cages, there were mice, and rabbits in the others. He softly hummed a song he remember listening to back in his home in Deling City, the silence around him making him nervous. Usually he heard growling, howling, anything but silence, which told him they were sleeping. By the time he would reach the door, though, they would wake, ready to be fed. Everyday, he just hoped they didn't kill the one that fed them; yet, everyday, he hoped this place would burn with him in it.

_I took this job, why? Oh yeah, because I thought it would be a part-time job and pay the bills. Boy was I wrong. You _live_ here if thatbitch hires you, and I was one of the lucky ones._ He had already passed the three doors that led to Hyne _knows_ where (he guessed bedrooms for what's-her-name's top scientists), and was making his way down the long hall, passing up the turned to his last stop: the eight rats safely in their cages.

He really didn't think his job was so bad, really. Sometimes he enjoyed the fact that the creatures had gotten used to him and didn't jump him and tear him to shreds when he walked through the door. On his first day here, he jumped and fled the room whenever he saw those lion-like cats, and he could've _sworn_ he heard them laughing at him.

"'Oh, Steven, I told you they wouldn't harm you!'" He repeated, in a semi-high voice, what what's-her-name had said to him shortly after he had fled the room.

"Yeah, right, then why do they have such big teeth?" Of course, he hadn't asked that out-loud, for fear that she may have killed him right then and there.

He stopped at a door that was just passed another door that he _hated_ to go through. Opening the door and pushing the cart in, he ignored the dead-end ahead and turned right, stopping at the first door on his right. He reached into a cage and pulled out two rabbits, holding them close to him as he opened the door.

"Dinner-time, kitties," he said, looking at two dark gray cats covered in black spots. Their head (minus jaw, which was white), paws, and almost four-foot long tail was pitch black, matching the spiked-up hair that trailed from the top of their head to the very tip of their tail. They walked toward him on long hind legs and muscular front ones; though only about two and a half feet tall, he knew they were dangerous, even as their white eyes looked at him with much kindness.

The one to his left --the male, he noticed-- softly meowed, eager for food. Steven got a good grip on the still-kicking rabbit and tossed it to the male, who sank his long fangs into its neck when he caught it. He heard the female meow, also wanting her food, so he tossed her hers. She grabbed it with her long tail and went to the corner to eat. He left them to eat in peaces, and shut the door, it automatically locking behind him.

After feeding the last three of that breed in the room across from the others, he pushed the cart down further and stopped at another door on his right. He swallowed hard, knowing that they (hopefully) wouldn't hurt him, but it was their _size_ that intimidated him. Sure, he was a little over six feet, but they could sit on him and kill him if they wanted to.

Finally opening the door after grabbing three rabbits, he walked inside, where he saw only _two_ of the large, built-of-pure-muscle cats. The two that he saw were the females, the male probably still on his practice hunt.

The cats were light gray all over, except for the sharp hair around their neck and down their spine, covering their entire tail. Their teeth inches long, and eyes wide, they were the large sisters of the previous breed he had just fed.

One female walked up to him, the other sitting beautifully in a corner. The female didn't make a sound as she looked up at him, now only inches away. She stood almost to his chest when her head was straight, and he could hear her breathing. Quickly, he handed her a rabbit, and she took it with her mouth, walking away a second later, that tail twitching back and forth.

No, he was wrong. It was _her_ who intimidated him. The male was slightly bigger, and the other female the same size as her sister, but that one female was the dominant, and he could see why.

But now the other wanted her food as she walked to him, not wasting a second. She gently rubbed her head against his right leg, being careful not to hurt him with the spikes on her neck.

"Okay, here you go," he gave her a rabbit, and she trotted back to her corner. The dominant female meowed loudly, and he knew what she wanted, so he tossed the last rabbit to her, knowing she wanted to keep it and give it to her mate when he got back.

Quickly he left, hearing the door lock behind him. _One more room in this area,_ he thought happily, but then remembering the next room after this last one. He let out a moan, but grabbed three more rabbits, and opened the last door.

Right as the door opened, a very skinny gray dog greeted him, hopping around eagerly. No matter how much Steven fed these six dogs, they never gained _any_ weight. He carefully watched out for their whip-like demon tail and horns as he fed three of them, leaving to get three smaller rabbits for the last three. They all ate while he left to go to the next room.

It didn't take long, all he did was go back through the door he came through and stop at the door diagonal to it: the one he hated. He swallowed hard, knowing what was inside. Leaving the cart behind, he walked through the door, looking out at the very large pool of water, unable to take his eyes off as he walked over to a glass tank, reaching in and pulled out one large fish after the other and tossing them into the pool. He didn't wait to make sure the monsters ate; he was out of that room before you could say "Hyne".

His breathing was already heavy as he pushed the cart down the hall and around a corner where the rates and the bridge were. Stopping in front of a door to the right of the area where the rats were, he opened the door and grabbed the last remaining two medium-sized cages. Two of the wolf-sized dogs --the brothers to the skinny ones-- greeted him.

These were his favorite; their paws, spine and ridge of their nose and forehead, and short, stubby tail were black. Their belly, throat, and jaw were white, the rest dark gray. From what he over-heard the scientists say, they called this breed _Lf_ --for short _Lupis fero_. He had never studied Latin, so he didn't really know what that meant; but the soldiers called them WolvenX.

He opened the cages and dumped the remaining rabbits out, watching the dogs eat. They were beautiful --their muscles so defined, so noticeable as they ate. A few minutes later, he finally left to feed the rats. He made sure the door had locked, and grabbed the three small cages full of mice. He peered into one of the eight cages and saw the gray creature, the same height as the black-spotted cat when it stood up straight. Its little black nose sniffed the air, its eyes colorless. The two long-haired tails it had lay lifeless, but its three clawed hands (one for the thumb) grabbed at the air.

He dropped a couple mice into the cage and watched the over-grown rodent sniff around and then eat the mice. After all was fed, he began to push the cart back to his room, but froze--

"Hey, kid, got any of those mice left?"

A man's voice. But where was it coming from? _Behind you,_ he spun around, only seeing the bridge and a door on the other side. Was it coming from inside?

"Well, aren't you rude?"

'I don't know where you are," Steven replied, feeling goosebumps on his arms.

"Behind you."

He spun around, hearing the chuckling of the unknown man, but seeing nothing.

"Just kidding. I'm locked up. You need to loosen up, some."

Taking a few steps toward the bridge, he asked, "Can you see me?"

"Yes; you're looking right at me."

"So you _are_ in there…" Steven muttered.

"Yes, yes I am. Happy now that you've found me? How 'bout you give me some mice?"

"Uh, sorry, but I fed them all to the-"

"Oh just great. No mice for me. Next time save some for me, okay?"

"Oh-okay…" He was unsure about this man, but he only _did_ want some mice, and it's not like they were going to run out of the pesky little creatures any time soon. "I'll make sure to bring extra tomorrow."

"Ah, thank ya, kid; I appreciate it."

"The name's Steven, not kid," he corrected him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Steven. I'm Perfidus."

"Do you know why you are in there, Perfidus?" He asked, curious as to _why_ what's-her-name would keep a person locked up like that.

"Sure don't. But how did you manage to get a job here?" asked the man behind the steel door.

"My bad luck helped me out." Steven now remembered the time. "Uh, I'd better get going before I get in trouble. I'll remember t hose mice, though."

"Thank you, Steven."

He quickly headed back to his room to reload the cart and wait for tomorrow morning…


	21. It Hates Flying Things

A/N: Uh, yeah, sorry 'bout that if it said "black" rather than "blonde". She's supposed to be a blonde. And I still remember about what Seifer said to Squall, haven't forgotten about it. Updates may come slowly because I'm stuck on how to write this one scene in chapter twenty-three, I think, and also because life is seriously changing for me (for the better, I hope). But I have NOT forgotten about this fic.

Disclaimer: Same thing as last time. The plot and things I created belong to me and me only.

Chapter XXI

It Hates Flying Things

Let the fear of danger be a spur to prevent it, he that fears not, gives advantage to danger. **-Francis Quarles**

XxXxX

After the strange laugh, the trio stayed in the room, knowing it was, more than likely, dangerous to leave. It had been quiet since the laugh, nearly fifteen minutes or so ago. The only noise they heard often was Nooj straightening his metal leg out on the bed in which he lay, but even that had calmed down as the minutes slowly passed by.

_The silence… I can't take it, anymore. Something is wrong, and we can't stay here like sitting ducks,_ Squall stood, feeling an ache in his legs from sitting too long. "The exit is seven floors below us. The elevator is probably dead, but since it isn't too far away, we can see if it works." _You know it's not going to work._

Yuna simply nodded, glancing over at the girl who lay motionless on the bed next to Nooj's. "What about her?"

"I'll carry her," The girl couldn't weight that much, right? "Nooj, there should be a wheelchair somewhere outside; it'll help you move faster, if Yuna doesn't mind pushing it?" He looked from Nooj to Yuna.

"No, I don't mind at all," she said, smiling slightly.

He nodded. "Good, I'll grab our mystery girl and then we'll leave."

The girl was on his back, arms hanging over his shoulders as he held onto her legs to keep her from sliding off. "We'll be defenseless, so stay alert." He walked to the door, thankful she wasn't at all heavy.

Yuna opened the door and Nooj walked out, glancing left and right. They continued out, Squall pointing to a wheelchair a few feet away, and Yuna getting it for Nooj. After he was seated, they started walking toward the elevators.

The hall was empty of life other than them as they walked, their footsteps and the wheelchair on tile, and their breathing was all they heard.

"Where do you think everyone is?" He barely heard Yuna ask, her voice slightly above a whisper.

"I don't know," Squall replied, focusing on the right turn up ahead, trying to remember if that was where the stairs were located.

When they reached the elevators, he let Yuna try and press the down buttons on both, getting no response from either.

"The stairs may be around that corner," he said, nodding his head at the turn ahead. "If not, we can always-"

_Hiiiisssssssssssss…_

All three turned to face the long, _T_-shaped hall behind them, Nooj barely turning around in his wheelchair.

"What was that?" Yuna asked, keeping her voice low.

"I don't think we want to find out." He motioned for her to get the wheelchair and start pushing, his eyes locked on the long hall, unsure which corner the monster would come around. He himself turned and ran along-side Yuna and Nooj, the girl's head laying against the side of his neck. They turned the corner--

_HIIIISSSSSSSSSSS!_

--and he was grateful to see the "stairs" sign ahead.

They continued toward it even as the sound of something slithering after them reached their ears. It was when they stopped for Yuna to open the door leading directly to the stairs that Squall saw their stalker: an Anacondaur.

Nooj was pushed in, and soon they were all behind the now locked, metal door. They jumped slightly as something heavy slammed against the door, but then it was gone.

"What _was_ that fiend?"

Squall turned his head to look at Yuna. "That was an Anacondaur; its poison is deadly without an antidote --which we don't have."

"We should probably get going before it decided to come back," said Nooj, standing. "And I can't go down stairs in that thing." he looked down the stairs that went around and around until they stopped at the bottom.

"So we'll just have to leave it behind, then," Squall began down the steps first, looking over the railing, already knowing how far they had to go.

As they slowly made their way down the stairs, Squall could hear the girl on his back breathing. _She's just a kid…_ He looked out of the corner of his eye to see her blond hair.

"Six floors to go," he heard Nooj say from behind him. Looking slightly behind him and to his right, he saw the metal door with the number seven on it.

_We're slowly getting there,_ his eyes focused back on the stairs in front of him so he wouldn't trip or miss a step. The weight on his back seemed to be getting heavier the longer he carried her, but he ignored it, for now.

The silence now took over as they continued downward, him stopping on the flat area below the first set of stairs. He found himself looking at the set of stairs that went down, ending in a flat area, turned and ended at the sixth floor door, and so on. They had a long way to--

"Squall!"

The sudden scream of his name from Yuna snapped him out of his thoughts. His eyes turned to where she was pointing, the area where the seventh floor door _used_ to be, and where a Grendel now stood.

He didn't have time to move, the Grendel too fast. It left from the doorway and toward _him_--

--but the miniature dragon bounced off an invisible wall of some kind, flying over the railing and down toward the bottom.

Squall just stood there, mouth slightly opened, but eyes wide. "What the hell just happened?"

"I-I don't know…" Yuna was as shocked as he was.

Nooj seemed too quiet… Even as he spoke, he sounded like he was hiding something. "Let's continue before more show up," he had said, making his way past Squall and down the steps.

Yuna seemed to notice something was different about him, also. But they followed him in silence, anyway. He'd tell them what was wrong sooner or later, Squall hoped.

They passed the sixth floor door with much caution, even after they had passed it.

_Creak._

Squall froze, listening closely. "Did anyone else hear that?" he whispered, looking around.

"Hear what?" Yuna asked from behind him.

_Creeeeaakk_.

"That," he continued looking around, but something caught his eye. "Nooj,"

The man looked at him, then down--and the stairs crumbled beneath him and sent him down to the lower level of stairs, pieces of the stairs on top of him.

"Nooj!" Yuna was looking down, calling to him, but he didn't respond.

"The fall knocked him unconscious. We should be able to-"

_Rooooaaaarrr!_

A Grendel jumped down through the upper stairs and landed on the pile of rocks now on the other side of the broken stairs. Squall knew that the Grendel could jump over the gap and to them, but they had to reach Nooj…

"Get to the door!"

Yuna didn't hesitate, she knew they couldn't get to Nooj from here, and that if they didn't hurry, the monster would get to them. She reached the door just in time as the Grendel jumped over and started toward them, even as they burst through the door and ran down a long, empty hall. All they could do now was pray that they and Nooj would be safe --that, and run as fast as they could.

They turned a sharp right corner, Squall's feet slipping and sliding beneath him, but he managed to regain his balance and continue forward. Behind him he heard something crash into the wall, and he knew what it was, but he still had to force himself not to look back.

He saw Yuna grab at her waist, making him wonder what she was doing. And then he felt it --the ground beneath them shook so violently he had trouble staying on his own two feet.

A massive creature --purple in color-- turned the left corner ahead of them and charged, running at full speed.

_A Behemoth!_ his mind calculated as he was almost tempted to stop in his tracks; and he did, but Yuna didn't.

_BANGBANGBANGBANG--_ The shots came one right after the other, most hitting the beast's massive chest, a couple blowing chunks of skin off its cheek, sending blood all over its face.

The beast was temporarily blinding, but still coming toward them. Yuna didn't fire any more shot, which worried Squall because the Behemoth was feet away from her and he was about to try and use Shiva on it --and then Yuna jumped, landing on its head, running down its back, then flipping off; while, at the same time, she twists her body around, aiming her pistols, and…

…firing like crazy, one shot after the other, each landing in the back of its head. Blood shot out as the monster fell to the ground, sliding a few feet before stopping completely, never to move again.

Squall never moved, just stood there staring at the dead body of the beast, but he was quickly snapped back to reality--

_Creeaaakk…_

He didn't waste a second; he ran and jumped onto the Behemoth, jumping off just as the beast fell down to the lower left of the hospital, the fifth floor. He hit the floor _hard_, but only because something strong hit him and thrust him to the ground.

It had been a breath attack from their good friend, the Grendel. At this rate, he knew the girl was never going to get out of her coma if he kept getting hit in the back like that.

Quickly, he rose to his feet, legs shaky, but still he ran toward Yuna. Together, they ran and turned right instead of left --which was where the Behemoth had come from. He personally didn't want to run into another one of those monsters.

But the problem was, he had no idea where they were going. This had been the first time he visited Esthar's hospital, and what a fun first time it had been. Joking aside, he had to figure out what to do from here --and there was one risky way to do that.

"Go into the next, unlocked room, Yuna," he said to her. She slowed down and checked the first door she saw. Locked. The next door just happened to be unlocked, but a storage closet. Right now he didn't care, the Grendel was close, he could hear it.

They hurried inside, it not being as tight of fit as he expected it to be. Outside in the hall, they could hear something running by, passing them. They held their breath, praying that the beast wouldn't come knocking on the door.

Silence… Soon they began breathing again, and Squall crouched, carefully putting the girl down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"When can we go back for Nooj?"

He looked up at Yuna. "Probably after things calm down some, and there isn't a Grendel hunting us down?" Shaking his head, he sat down, eyes locked on their mystery girl. "Besides, I don't think it's safe to take her back out there, and we can't leave her alone in here… Look, I'm not suggesting we ditch Nooj, it's just not safe at the moment."

"I understand," she said with a nod.

Silence took over once more, sending both into deep thoughts. They had to figure out a way out of here --with Nooj.

XxXxX

He limped down the hall, listening for any suspicious sounds meaning danger was coming. But, as if for his convenience, there had been no sounds such as that. Yet. So he continued, the only sound in the hall him.

_Hiiiiisssssss……_

Though it was low, he could still hear it, and quickly opened a door to his right --a very small closet with mops and such in it-- and shut it tightly, listening closely.

The giant snake came closer…was right outside the door… His heart picked up speed. And then -- and then it was passed, moving down the hall, away from him.

He waited a couple minutes before opening the door a bit, looking out before he--

Something hit the door _hard_; so hard, Nooj was almost knocked off his feet. _Almost_. He pushed against the door, he was really working his machina arm and leg, but the fiend just wouldn't give up.

XxXxX

Celcius rose off the ground, its nose pointing at the dark clouds ahead where Esthar was. The pilot --Brother-- steered the airship toward the set of dark clouds; he sped Celcius up, wanting to get there in under five minutes, and was determined to do so.

Zell was walking down the steps to the lower floor of the Bridge, and the great big sphere in the middle of the room caught his attention. He walked up to it, hand outstretched--

"Don't touch! You'll break!" shouted Brother from the pilot's seat.

Zell opened his mouth to argue, but Quistis stopped him. "Listen to Brother, Zell, this isn't our airship."

"Oui tynh nekrd ed ech'd," Brother mumbled.

"Paryja ouincamv, Brother," Buddy glanced sideways at him from his seat.

"E ys paryjehk!"

"Here we go again," Shinra said, not moving his gaze off his computer screen.

XxXxX

"Wow, look at all this stuff!" Selphie shouted, hands together.

"And this must be the engine room," Irvine joined Selphie near all the working machines.

"I wonder if Brother will let me fly this thing," Selphie tilted her head, wondering rather or not she should ask.

Red lights started flashing, and they could hear a siren of some sort. _"Everyone, report to the Bridge; we have an emergency!"_

_It sounds like Buddy,_ she thought.

_"And get out of that engine room!"_

_And Brother. How does he **do** that?_ Shaking her head, she ran to the elevator with Irvine. Once the elevator stopped and they got off, they ran down the left set of stairs to meet up with the others.

"What's wrong?" Irvine asked.

"That," Buddy simply said, pointing at the front window.

Ahead of them were dark clouds, almost black. Lightning flashed once, making Rikku jump in her seat. "We've seen this storm before," she said, looking like she was about to jump out of her seat.

"It's surprisingly the same one we ran into in Spira; the wind speed is the same, everything," Shinra explained.

"If that's so, then how did it follow you to this world?" asked Quistis, looking over at the Al Bhed boy.

"I'm just a kid."

"Translation: he doesn't know!" Rikku shouted form where she sat.

"Hold onto your chocobos," warned Buddy.

Something pushed Celcius, knocking the people inside off their feet if they weren't holding onto something. Another push, then nothing for two seconds--Celcius stopped in her tracks.

XxXxX

_HIIIIISSSSSSSS!_

"Leave…ME…_ALONE!_" He put every last bit of strength he had into one last push, if this didn't work, he was dead--

The door was pushed the other way, the fiend being thrown to the ground. No way _he_ was going to die now, not before he saved Paine.

_Don't have much time--use spell,_ he cast a Stop spell on the snake, stopping it from moving for a while. As quickly as he could, he ran away from the fiend, toward the long hall of doors. He entered a room, locking the door and pushing a couch in front of it. Backing away from the door and looking at his surroundings, he noticed he was in one of the nicer patient rooms. Like it made any difference to him. He just wanted to hide from that fiend. Fighting was not an option; no need to waste energy or spells on such a fiend when there are obviously more dangerous fiends.

_CRAAASSSHHH!_

He turned quickly toward the door, waiting before removing the couch and peering outside.

There, yards to his right, he saw a massive creature lying on the floor, so very dead, and a huge hole in the ceiling above it.

"What the hell?"

Something jumped across the hole above--a Grendel, he noticed--, and heard footsteps running away.

_Squall? Yuna?_ He slowly walked out of the room, looking around but not finding the snake anywhere near. His eyes then locked with the hole, _so they're only one floor above me._

XxXxX

She still slept, breathing evenly, which was a good sign. How peaceful she looked, eyes closed, body not moving. One wouldn't know by looking at her that she was to never wake again.

A hand was placed on his right coat sleeve. He looked over at Yuna, a look of sympathy on her face. Dammit, they didn't even _know_ the girl, and already he felt like he lost someone close to him. _She's just a kid, maybe that's why?_ He lowered his eyes, thinking of a plan out of here.

_Click…click…click…click-_ the sound continued, getting closer each second. Claws on tile, that's what it was. It picked up speed, whatever creature was the owner of the claws, _the Grendel, it's the Grendel. Why is it back?_

Passed their closet, it moved away from them Squall let out a sigh of relief. It was gone, again. He saw Yuna jump when the Grendel let out a loud shriek, the sound of the creature jumping down the hole and landing on tile calmed them both down some, for the beast wasn't going to bother them.

_BANGBANGBANG!_

"NOOJ!"

XxXxX

Still looking up at the hole, he tried to figure out how he would get up there. From what he saw earlier, the elevator didn't work, and the stairs were blocked.

_Click…click…click…click-_ came a sound, echoing in the halls above. He took one step back, recognizing the sound as claws. The sound sped up--and a Grendel shrieked as it jumped down and landed next to the body of the dead fiend.

_BANGBANGBANG!_ He pulled the trigger on his gun quickly. All three bullets hit the fiend in its chest but it still came at him--

_BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, _four shots from one weapon, all in the head, the Grendel flat on the floor, dead.

Nooj gasped, his eyes wide.

**"Oui tynh nekrd ed ech'd,"** --You damn right it isn't  
**"Paryja ouincamv, Brother,"** -- Behave yourself, Brother  
**"E ys paryjehk!"** --I am behaving!


	22. Surprises Behind Every Door

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. I only own the plot and the stuff I created.**

**Chapter XXII**

**Surprises Behind Every Door**

_First weigh the considerations,  
__Then take the risks._ **-Helmuth von Meltke**

XxXxX

She paced back and forth, thinking, planning a way out--but coming up blank. Did they have a camera in the room? Were they watching her every move? _I would._ Light had appeared in the room shortly after her kidnapper left, the torches on the walls being the source of the light. So the guy could clap his hands and make the torches light up. Woo-hoo, she was impressed. And guess what she could do? Burp the Hymn of the Fayth.

Okay, so she wasn't impressed and couldn't burp the Hymn, but she was pissed off.

"As if that mattered right now!" She screamed in anger. Being locked up was no fun. Boy, was there going to be a _serious_ ass-whoopin' when she got out.

_Knock, knock,_ "Miss Paine, are you ready?" came a man's voice from the other side of the door.

_No,_ she stopped pacing and faced the door, her only way out from the looks of it. "Yeah, I guess," she said, watching the door open and a man a little over six feet, maybe in his mid-twenties, stood there. He had dark brown hair with blond streaks throughout it that looked as if he never combed it, _like I comb mine,_ and blue-green eyes.

When his eyes locked with hers, she could tell he was shocked.

_Men,_ she almost rolled her eyes.

"Uh, you're--you're Paine?" he asked, unable to take his eyes off of her as he looked her up and down.

"That'd be me," she raised an eyebrow. "_You're_ my escort?" _You have _got _to be kidding me. Sure, he's muscular like Gippal, and just about as tan, but I could easily kick his ass. Ah, don't judge a book by the cover,_ she reminded herself.

"Uh, yeah, I'm your escort," he swallowed hard, looking a bit nervous.

She didn't even waste a moment. Better to get this over with, huh? "Lead the way," she followed him out of the room, the two walking to their left to a corner, then turning right and stopped at a door only a few feet away on the left wall.

He was quiet, nervous, probably, she didn't know, but it humored her. They walked through the door, stairs heading down were ahead of them, a walkway to their left that went around the room, both the stairs and the walkway overlooking the large room below them--a library, she noticed. A chandelier hung from the high ceiling where glass covered the entire top.

"Expensive lookin' place," she mumbled, a bit shocked at how much gil must've been put into just a library.

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice place." He mumbled something else.

"Excuse me?"

He looked at her. "Huh?"

"You said something else. What'd you say?"

"Uh, n-nothing. We'd better hurry, what's-her-name- I mean, um, uh, boss lady doesn't like to wait long." He continued down the stairs, making sure she followed him, which she didn't hesitate in doing so.

"So what's a guy like you doing here, working for a bad guy?" Paine asked, careful not to appear _too_ nosy.

"Because she could easily kill me?"

"Point taken," she glanced at him, walking beside him.

"Why is such a lady as yourself here, as a prisoner? What'd you do that was so bad?"

She had to chuckle to that. "I honestly don't know, I was practically _kidnapped_."

"Kidnapped?"

"Yeah, kidnapped. Don't know how he managed it, but he did." She narrowed her eyes, silently promising her kidnapper that she'll get her revenge. It was a promise she meant to keep.

"Um…" He stepped off the last step, watching her stop at the bottom of the stairs shortly after him. "My name is Steven."

"Pleasure to meet you, Steven," _He seems nice, innocent, even. How does someone like him even get a job working with the enemy? Bad luck, possibly._

"The dining room isn't too far away," he--Steven--said, continuing walking. "I don't know what they're having for dinner, but I wouldn't eat it, if I were you. I manage to get my food elsewhere, but I wouldn't trust her food."

"Okay, thanks, I'll remember that," she saw them pass up one door, and then stop at another at the end of the hall.

"Enjoy your dinner, Miss Paine," his whole attitude changed, making Paine suspicious. He nodded his head slightly towards the ceiling.

She slowly turned her eyes toward the corner and saw a camera, looking back at him, she nodded. "I'll try to," she made her voice sound harsh, the way it had been when she was talking to her kidnapper. She shot him a glare before she entered the room and the door shut behind her.

"Ah, so this is Paine, a good friend of Lady Yuna."

Paine looked at the long table, the room lit up by candles that had been placed on the table. On the left end of the table sat a woman with silver hair, to the woman's left sat a man--

"Lord Seymour--" She barely got the words out of her mouth. _He's--he's alive._ She may have never met the dead man--but so very much alive before her own eyes--, but she knew what he looked like, everyone on Spira did. "But--but you're supposed to be _dead_!"

"I look good for a dead man, don't I?" Seymour looked at her, "Please, have a seat," he motioned to a chair across from him and to the woman's right.

She did so, not even hesitating for a second, something told her things just got worse.

"It is a pleasure to have you join us for dinner, my dear Paine,"

_That voice…_ "YOU! YOU'RE THE CRAZY WOMAN IN MY HEAD!" She shouted, eyes wide.

The woman chuckled. "Yes, child, I am," she stopped the chuckling and looked at her. "My name is Ultimecia, it is an honor to finally meet you in person."

Paine opened her mouth--

"Bite your tongue, girl!" Seymour snapped, eyes glaring at her.

Rage built up inside her, but she ignored it. She had control of her emotions. A sly smile appeared on her face. "Yes, daddy," she held his glare with her own.

"My, my, my, how I lost my temper, I apologize for the…outburst, Miss Ultimecia, please forgive me," he bowed his head slightly.

"Don't worry about it, Seymour. Let us begin this konversation," Ultimecia took her gaze off of Seymour and locked it on her. Seymour glared at her, _ah, poor baby, he didn't like my bad mouth. So my mouth has a mind of its own, sue me._ Paine just glared back.

"You will be staying here for a while, but don't worry about needing to know where everything is. You'll be staying in your room during your stay. Oh, how do you like the room? Plenty of room?" Ultimecia asked her, not noticing or even bothering to notice the glare battle her and Seymour were having.

"The room itself is…_nice_, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that no one wants me out of my room. Is that true? I mean, I'm such a nice person, and I don't cause _any_ trouble. Maybe you could allow me to, ooooh, get out of the house some?" Paine kept an innocent look and smile on her face.

Ultimecia looked pissed, but regained her calm expression. "Perhaps I _could_ allow you some time outside of your room. Not."

"Bitch," Paine glared at her, a smirk on her face.

"Steven! Get this woman out of my sight and put her back in her room!" Ultimecia yelled at the man who had obviously been right outside the door, listening in on their conversation--Paine could tell by the laugh he tried to hold back as he entered the room and grabbed her arm fiercely.

"Come with me, Miss Paine," Steven said to her, trying to glare at her, but failing. She could see the laughter in his eyes even as they left the room and headed back toward the stairs. "That was _awesome!_" he exclaimed, though not too loud for fear that someone may overhear him.

"Thank you. Do you think I made a good first impression?"

He laughed. "Yeah!"

A couple minutes later, they arrived at her assigned room, Steven opened the door for her, his head only slightly nodding to what she guessed was a camera above the door. As she walked inside, he passed something so quickly, so _skillfully_, that you'd have to be _really_ paying attention to even notice it. Paine walked further into the room, the door shutting and locking behind her. She yawned a fake yawn, stretched, and rubbed her head. In the next few seconds, she was in the bed, all covered up.

Her head was slightly under the blanket as she looked down to her hands under the covers. She quietly unfolded the sheet of paper that he had given her, and read it silently:

_Will get info for you. Give me a couple days._

The handwriting wasn't the least bit neat, but she figured he had to write quickly, so why bother writing neatly? She could still read it.

XxXxX

Whistling.

"How long have you been doing that, now? A little over an hour?"

Gippal stopped whistling. "Yep."

"You know, the first five minutes was annoying enough."

He laughed, replying, "Ah, c'mon, Baralai, there's nothin' else to do around here. You'd think she'd be kind enough to give us some board games or something."

"Yeah, but she didn't-"

"So we're just going to hafta entertain ourselves, right?"

"Yes."

"Anyone know how to sing that song that Yuna sung when she really wasn't Yuna, in Al Bhed?" Gippal asked, fully aware of what the answers would be. Big and Little Guy didn't know what he had said, and Baralai was…Baralai.

"Gippal, we should be thinking of a way out, not singing songs," Baralai sighed on the other side of the wall.

"Sing along with me, Baralai: Vyn paouht dra hyqo puntanc uv so raynd," Gippal had already stood and walked up to the door, inspecting it.

"Gippal…"

The two Al Bhed brothers looked at Gippal, like he was crazy.

"E luimt caa y bmyla dryd's cusadrahk mega dnec," He patted the sides of his pants, reaching into the left pocket a second later and pulling out a screwdriver. "Ajano huf yht dnah E tuh'd ghuf fryd du tu."

"Gippal, are you even listening to me?"

"Cdemm E ghuf dryd E lyh hajan ku pylg."

_Crreeeeaaaakk_……_THUD._

"Gippal! What was that!" Baralai's tone of voice sounded highly worried.

"That, my friend, was the sound of a very heavy door falling to the ground." He exited the cell, the two brothers cautiously following. Gippal picked the lock to Baralai's cell and pushed the door open. "So you're really _not_ in my imagination," he said with a smile. "Your door, Praetor, has been opened." He bowed, straightening only after Baralai stepped out.

"Thank you, my dear friend."

"Ah, don't mention it; I needed some fresh air, anyway." Gippal looked around and down the hall where it turned right. "And the mice have escaped their cage. Shall we get out of this hellhole?"

Baralai nodded. "Yes, let's."

The small group of four walked around the corner and left where the hall turned again. A few yards down the hall, they came to two sets of stairs, one going up, the other down--_both_ heavily protected by thick bars. No way _that_ was going to be their ticket out of here.

"And I thought they wanted us to leave. Looks like they're tryin' really hard." Gippal continued down the hall, obviously determined to get out of here. Who wasn't?

The hall continued straight to a dead end. There were only two turns before that dead end: the first turning left, the other right. The right turn, as they soon found out, led to yet another dead end with a single door on the left wall.

"Let's try the other way first, and if it's a dead end, we'll try that door at the end, there." Baralai suggested.

Gippal only nodded and turned the other way. Looking at the brothers, he translated, "Fa'mm lralg dra udran fyo vencd, cu zicd vummuf ic, ugyo?"

"Ugyo," both said, following them with no hesitation.

After they backtracked a few feet and took the other turn, they found themselves at a long hall that looked very similar to the one they had just left, except for the metal door ahead of them.

"Frelr fyo?" asked Little Guy.

"Uh…right," Gippal pointed to their right, "dead end, tayt aht, but left," he then pointed left, "is our choice, ec uin lruela." _I really need to teach Baralai Al Bhed._ As they started left, they heard footsteps. And as quickly and quietly as they could, they ran back the way they came, stopping right there at the corner, and waiting for the person to pass by. They did--and as Gippal peered around to see, he saw the guard walking away from them. He signaled for them to stay put as he quietly turned the corner and threw a sleeping grenade around the next corner to where the guard was.

The guard fell down, asleep, and he motioned to them that all was okay. He walked up to the fallen guard and searched his pockets.

"Oh oayr, E'ja red dra zylg-bud," Gippal said proudly as he pulled out a card that looked like it fit _perfectly_ in that little machina over by the metal door.

"What did you find?" asked Baralai, walking up behind him.

"Some kinda card thing that goes in that machina by the door," he answered. "At least I don't hafta try to get in manually." Swiping the card through the machina, a female voice spoke.

"FINGERPRINT, PLEASE."

"Uh, kessa dryd kio ujan drana, uh, Big Guy."

The Al Bhed dragged the man over to Gippal, not even trying to be gently as he did so. As he dropped the man next to him, he stood back. Gippal grabbed the guard's hand and placed his thumb on the pad thing on the machina.

"ACCESS GRANTED." A _click_ of a lock unlocking.

After the door finished raising into the ceiling, Gippal stuck his head inside to make sure no one was there. Nothing. He turned his head, put his index finger to his lips, and made a soft _sssshhhh_ sound.

A few feet ahead, a left and right turn. Both dead ends. On the right turn and on the left wall, there was another metal door, the same machina on the wall next to it.

"Three doors down here," Baralai said, coming back up the right hall. "and I think only one over there."

"Well one has to have the card thing, or maybe this one works on this one, too?"

"I doubt it; if the other needed the fingerprint of that man _and_ the card, then more than likely this one has a separate owner," Baralai explained, looking down the left hall. "The right hall has more cells in it, I didn't look through the bars on any of the doors because I didn't want anyone to see me, so the room all by itself has to be the one we're looking for."

"Aye, aye, captain, let's look." Gippal walked towards the lone room with a slight hop in his step.

"Fa'mm cdyo uid rana yht cdyo uh kyint." He heard Big Guy say.

He nodded, looking back at Baralai behind him. Softly he knocked on the door.

The door opened and Gippal saw a man, but then the man was out on the floor, nose bleeding from the punch he received from Gippal.

With one man down, the other two in the room who had recently been playing some kind of card game came toward them, Gippal knocking one out while Baralai handled the other.

"You check that one and I'll check these two, 'kay?"

"Okay," Baralai checked the pockets, finding a card, one exactly like the first one. "I've found it."

"Great! Now let's go check out the next room," Gippal and him left the room, unlocked the next door using the card and one of the men's thumb, and soon they were in. And they were shocked at what they had walked into.

Not fiends, nor people, not even more buildings, halls, closed doors. Plants. They had walked into a room _full_ of plants of all kinds.

"Whoa, Macalania Woods, 'cept _bigger_," Gippal looked around, wide-eyed.

"Let's continue forward, perhaps we will find a way out." Looking around also, Baralai took a couple steps forward.

"Dnyem," Little Guy said, pointing ahead of them.

"Hey! That is a trail! A badly made one, but still a trail." Gippal started to walk backwards down the trail. "It has to lead somewhere, right?" Not really waiting for an answer, he turned back around and headed forward, the other three behind him.

Whistling.

"Gippal…"

"What? Do you want me to break out into singing?"

"No," Baralai said quickly.

"Fryd ypuid oui dfu?" asked Gippal, looking back at the two Al Bhed brothers. "Tu oui fyhd sa du cehk?"

"Hu, pacd cyja ed vun yh ubbuhahd. Ayco gemm," said Big Guy, making Gippal and Little Guy burst out laughing.

"Drad'c hud vihho!" Gippal said, smile on face.

"I take it they don't want you to sing?" Baralai looked over at his friend.

"Nah, sure don't. He said that it's best to save it for an opponent, that it would be an easy kill." He shook his head. "Ouin cehkehk lyh'd pa yho paddan, Big Guy."

Big Guy chuckled. "Cinamo ed'c paddan dryh ouinc!"

"From what I understood of it, he's insulting you."

"Yeah, but I think he has a point. His singing _is_ probably better than mine."

"I'd have to agree."

Gippal lightly punched Baralai on the right. "Heeeey, you aren't supposed to agree with your pal, even _if _he's right." Suddenly, he stopped, frozen in his tracks.

"What is it--Oh," Baralai quickly shut his mouth.

Trees, bushes, they were moving, as if someone or something was walking past them. Then they felt it--they felt the ground beneath them shake slightly, a soft _thump_ in the distance.

"Uh…anyone else have goosebumps?" Gippal stood his ground, listening closely, still unsure of where the sound was coming from.

"I suggest--" Baralai started.

_ROOOOAAAARRRR!_

"We run!" finished Gippal as a _huge_ six-legged beast rose out of the bushes. Two sets of red eyes on a huge bear head--it looked dangerous; not only dangerous, but pissed _off_.

And they were running. Though they _were_ running in the opposite direction of where ever the trail led, Gippal really didn't think anyone cared considering that fiend was behind them.

Through bushes, passed trees, jumping over the occasional above-ground tree root, away from the green-scaled fiend--

--_ROOOOAAAARRRR!_-- from the west it came.

_Wait, but I thought it was behind us?_ Gippal only slightly turned his head to his left--

_SSLLAAAASHH!_, claws slice into flesh, throwing his body like a rag doll. His back slammed against a thick tree, sliding down into a sitting position, then falling onto his right side, arms wrapped around his sides. He bit his lower lip to keep the scream of pain from coming out.

"Gippal!" screamed Baralai, trying to stop and help his friend, but the fiend was chasing him and the brothers--he gasped--_oh, no,_ a second one, the one who had hurt Gippal, it was coming back at him--at his only friend in this…this _place_.

Branch. Jump. Simple.

He saw the branch, jumped, and grabbed onto it with both hands. As he swung himself up and around to the top, the fiend running beneath him, passed him, even as he landed softly, and ran toward where the other fiend was headed for Gippal.

One good spell. That's all. Just one. Stay calm.

Lucky for him he knew at least one spell that he could use. And so he used it.

"Firaga!" The spell hit the fiend, but only burning it--you could see where its scaled had been hit they were so black. It stopped in its tracks, stopped charging at Gippal, and slowly turned toward him, that big head now facing him. Once more it roared, running in his direction. He jumped to the right, dodging the fiend--almost. The tail slapped against him, and into a tree he flew, back first.

As the fiend was coming back at him, he thought he was a goner. Until--

--Until the man Gippal called Big Guy jumped down off a tree and onto the large back of the fiend.

"Run, Praetor, and take Gippal! I will handle this fiend!" he shouted, in more Spirian words than Baralai thought he knew.

He didn't hesitate, though, didn't stop to wonder how the Al Bhed knew Spirian--didn't _want_ to, he wanted to get out. He stood, running toward Gippal, who was lying on his side, obviously in pain. He only looked back once to see the Al Bhed steer the fiend away from them, then he and Gippal ran off through the forest, Gippal leaning on him for balance.

"Gippal! Gippal! Baralai!" called someone.

The younger brother--Little Guy, according to Gippal--ran out of the bushes. "Frana ec so prudran?" he asked, voice shaky.

"Uh…" Baralai thought about the words the Al Bhed said, trying to translate what he had said without asking Gippal, whose breathing was heavy. "Your, uh, prudran cyjat…seha yht Gippal's meva. E…tuh'd ghuf ev ra'c ymeja," he said, his Al Bhed not so good, the words not pronounced correctly, but by the look on Little Guys face, he understood.

Tears formed in the Al Bhed's eyes, and he started walking toward where his brother was last seen.

"No," Baralai said softly, grabbing his arm. "He wants us--all of us--to get out alive."

The man seemed to understand him, and he joined them as they quickly headed in the direction that they _thought_ the exit was located.

They needed better weapons and potions.

They needed help. Or in Gippal's words: they were screwed.

**Al Bhed Translations:  
**"**Vyn paouht dra hyqo puntanc uv so raynd," -- Far beyond the hazy borders of my heart.  
**"**E luimt caa y bmyla dryd's cusadrahk mega dnec," -- I could see a place that's something like this.  
**"**Ajano huf yht dnah E tuh'd ghuf fryd du tu."** **-- Every now and then I don't know what to do.  
**"**Cdemm E ghuf dryd E lyh hajan ku pylg." -- Still I know that I can never go back.  
**"**Frelr fyo?" -- Which way?  
**"**Oh oayr, E'ja red dra zylg-bud," -- Oh yeah, I've hit the jack-pot.  
**"**Uh, kessa dryd kio ujan drana, uh, Big Guy." -- Uh, gimme that guy over there, uh, Big Guy.  
**"**Fa'mm cdyo uid rana yht cdyo uh kyint." -- We'll stay out here and stay on guard.  
**"**Fryd ypuid oui dfu? Tu oui fyhd sa du cehk?" -- What about you two? Do you want me to sing?  
**"**Ouin cehkehk lyh'd pa yho paddan, Big Guy." -- Your singing can't be any better, Big Guy.  
**"**Cinamo ed'c paddan dryh ouinc!" -- Surely it's better than yours!  
**"**Frana ec so prudran?" -- Where is my brother?  
**"**Your, uh, prudran cyjat…seha yht Gippal's meva. E…tuh'd ghuf ev ra'c ymeja," --Your, uh, brother saved…mine and Gippal's life. I…don't know if he's alive.**


	23. Some Questions Answered

**Disclaimer: Anything that I created, is mine. Not anyone else's. MINE.**

**Chapter XXIII**

**Some Questions Answered**

**The soul unto itself  
****Is an imperial friend,--  
****Or the most agonizing spy  
****An enemy could send. --Emily Dickinson**

XxXxX

"It's…_you_," Nooj glared at the man, his voice almost a hiss. How _dare_ he show up like this? After all that's he's done? _Heartless bastard._

"And it's a pleasure to see you again, too," he--the one who kidnapped his friends--said.

"Go to hell, bastard."

"Are you full of anger? I just saved your life, the least you could do is thank me."

That smirk… Oh how he _hated_ that smirk. "I would have rather _died_."

"I could have that arranged," he looked down at him. _Is he going to jump down?_

"Why _did_ you save my life?" Nooj asked, keeping the stern look on his face.

"Because I still need you alive."

"Why?"

"Because I need all three of you."

"All three--you mean, myself, as well as Baralai and Gippal?"

"Yes, yes," he squatted, still looking down at him. "In order to set the trap, I need all three of you."

"Trap? What trap?" Nooj remained where he was, looking up at him.

"Oops, I've said to much already.." The man smirked again. "But if you want to find out, then come with me--quietly."

"Never."

"Have it your way." He stood, but froze. "What? This can't be--" In a single movement, he turned, a gasp escaping his mouth.

There was a gunblade pointed at his head, only inches away form his face, but that's not what surprised him. "You--you have her--but, what's this? She's not awake!"

"Shut up, asshole, unless you want a bullet in your face or your head cut off," said a man very harshly.

_Squall,_ Nooj couldn't see them, but he knew Yuna and the girl were with him.

The man seemed to ignore Squall's threat. "How is this possible? She is supposed to be _dead_!"

"What do you mean, _dead_?" Squall asked, not removing the harshness in his voice or his gunblade, for that matter.

He smiled, saying, "She did not tell you who she was, did she? Interesting…" That smirk returned, making it look like he was enjoying this. "You shouldn't trust her, you know. She may work with the enemy. I know she _used_ to. How did she end up like this, anyway?" Squall didn't answer, the non-human man pleased with his response, or lack of one. "That's what I thought! Too bad it's time for you two to die!" Before either could stop him, a large fireball was thrown at Squall, since he was closer--but it bounced off, his own attack hitting himself. It almost threw him down the hole, but he unfortunately managed to regain his balance.

"**What?** I don't understand!" He growled, confused, and a second later, he was gone.

"What the hell just happened?" Squall said, gunblade by his side, his other hand trying to make sure the girl didn't fall off his back.

"I don't know… It was just like last time." Yuna walked up to him, looking at the girl. "Maybe it _was_ her?"

Squall stayed silent, considering it. Anything _did_ seem to be happening lately. "Let's just join Nooj," he simply said, jumping down the hole and landing in a crouch.

After Yuna joined them, Squall looked at Nooj. "You know more about her, what is it?" He looked at him with that cold stare.

Nooj sighed. "The girl--she's not human. I don't know what she is, but she's _definitely_ not human."

"Why are you so sure of this?" asked Squall.

"Because when we were fighting that T-Rexaur, my bullet had gone through the fiend and into her, killing her," a gasp from Yuna, a slightly shocked look on Squall face, but he continued, "It was when she healed I figured she wasn't human."

"This was information I would have _liked_ to know before I started carrying this--this creature and feeling sorry for her," his voice rose, him sounding a little pissed, but it didn't get any louder. "What if she _is_ working for the enemy? What is she's _exactly_ like that bastard and is plotting to kill us right at this moment? What if she really _isn't_ in a damn coma!" He just lost it. For once he couldn't help it, couldn't lock up the rage within him. Having no sleep in the last few days can be a problem.

"That's a lot of 'what if's. What if Paine is dead? What if she's hurt, locked up somewhere? What if both Gippal and Baralai are dead, as well? I think those questions every damn day that they aren't here, and yet, I still go on searching for them, knowing damn well that my chances of ever finding them are low--_extremely_ low." Nooj stared back at him. "You just have to take risks in your life, sometimes. Trust her, Squall. That girl has saved my life--as well as yours and Yuna's--the least we can do is trust her, even a little."

Squall was silent; as he stood there, the girl on his back felt heavier. Slowly, he turned and began to walk, ending their argument. "Let's get out of here before another monster shows up."

XxXxX

Squall was distant again; he walked ahead, the girl on his back.

_This place makes everyone so angry at each other… Once we find Paine, Gippal, and Baralai, we all deserve a nice, week-long sleep._ Yuna thought, eyes looking around then focusing on Squall's back. _I see why Paine and him would be friends. I think. Them two talk about as much as a pyrofly does._ She chuckled, thinking about the two's first meeting and how it was probably like.

She saw Nooj look sideways at her, eyebrow raised, but she shook her head, smiling and saying "it's nothing".

_Where is Paine?_ she wondered. Everyone probably wondered that. She hoped her, Gippal, and Baralai were okay. It'd be awful if something were to happen to _either_ of them.

Poor Nooj; his only three close friends are missing, probably--she didn't dare say it, or think it even. _They are okay,_ she repeated over and over, hoping her prayers would be heard and answered.

XxXxX

All was silent inside Celcius, but outside the waves hit the side of the airship; they could not move, something stopped them. All people inside were confused by their situation, and by the storm that seemed to have a mind of its own.

Everything was working properly inside the airship, yet they _still_ couldn't move. Outside the window they saw the dark clouds, the lightning, all signs of a deadly storm, but when they looked closer--

"Yo, is it just me or is that water floating in front of that window?"

Quistis looked in the direction that Zell was pointing in, closer to the window she walked, gasping when she saw what Zell had seen. "Look! He's right, there is water there!"

Brother and Buddy looked up from their work on figuring out what was wrong with Celcius, and at the window. "Does that remind you of something, Brother?" asked Buddy.

The Al Bhed nodded. "Uh-huh…"

"What?" Quistis looked back and forth between Brother and Buddy. "What does it remind you of?"

"Back on Spira," started Rikku, looking over at Quistis. "we had been _grabbed_ by this thing and pulled underneath the water. It would've been a really cool ride if the water hadn't been there and there wasn't a chance of _dying_."

"Hey, guys!" Selphie ran off of the elevator, jumping up and down. "You've _soooo_ got to come see the view from the cabin!" Expecting them to follow her, she ran back onto the elevator.

When Rikku, Quistis, and Zell had joined Selphie and Irvine on the upper floor of the cabin, they immediately knew what the 'cool sight' was: a strip of water in front of the windows, wrapping all around the airship.

"Isn't it _cool_? I've never seen anything like it!"

Quistis and Zell had to agree with Selphie--they'd never seen _anything_ quite like that before.

XxXxX

The hospital hall lit up some as lightning flashed, sending their shadows dancing off the walls, then disappearing once more to only reappear again as yet another flash of lightning lured them out. Nooj watched the shadows dance around the hall as they walked cautiously, their footsteps barely being heard over the booming thunder.

"Nooj," Yuna slowed down her walking to walk beside him.

"Yes?" Her voice was in a whisper, so he lowered his to match.

She looked down at the floor as they walked. "Do you think she's working for the enemy? Is there a possibility?"

"There's always a possibility," Nooj looked sideways at her, a smile on his face. "But no, I don't think so. If she is, she's doing a damn good job at pretending she's not."

"Yeah…" She looked up at the girl on Squall's back. "She seems so…_young_, she can't be very old."

"It's hard to tell how old she is. Not being human, the way she ages could be completely different from us."

Squall stopped, not looking back at them. "Quiet," he said, voice harsh.

The two behind him kept silent, and that's when they heard the reason why Squall shut them up.

A low growl, heavy footsteps that came closer to the hall they were in. Lightning flashed and there, at the end of the hall, they saw the huge, black, six-legged, mutated dragon, its thick tail swinging back and forth. The eyes of the beast spotted them, and it let out a fierce roar. Squall took one step back, eyes not moving off of the dragon. He silently cursed their bad luck and glared at the monster. Would they never make it out of this damn hospital?

The mutated dragon let out another roar, taking one step toward them.

"_Do not fear the beast, for it cannot harm you,"_ the words were whispered into Squall's ear…

"Did she-"

"Yes," Squall hated the idea of putting their lives in danger like that. How could he trust her words? She wasn't even awake! _You have to take risks in your life, sometime,_ he repeated the words spoken by Nooj minutes ago. He didn't want to, not at a time like this, and yet, he still walked toward the Hexadragon, his mind repeated one, single thought: please don't let this be a mistake.

"Squall!"

Nooj hushed Yuna, touching her arm and nodding his head toward Squall. "Let's follow."

Yuna was a bit hesitant at first, but she trusted her friend, and followed him as he walked a couple feet behind Squall.

The Hexadragon roared and charged at them, all legs pounding heavily onto the ground, shaking the entire floor beneath them, yet they still walked; even when the beast pushed itself off the ground, they didn't stop. Coming in for the kill, the Hexadragon fell closer to them--

And like the girl had promised, the beast hit a shield around them and disintegrated a second later. The group was standing there, completely in awe about what just happened, and seconds later after they recovered from the shock, they continued onward.

**A/N: So this chapter is a bit short… I was having writer's block on it and I just finished it with that scene. Well, don't forget to review!**


	24. This Just Isn't Her Day

Brutal2003: Yes, they are indeed strong enough, but fighting all those monsters would seriously drain their energy, as well as risk the life of the girl. It is, at the time, safer to try and avoid the fiends and only fight when there is no other option.

**Disclaimer: Things that I created are mine.**

**Chapter XXIV**

**This Just Isn't Her Day**

**First weight the considerations,  
****Then take the risks. --Helmuth von Meltke**

XxXxX

A man in his mid-thirties sat in a cushioned chair, leaned back, eyes focused on the television screens in front of him and another, younger man.

"I've never had a more boring job," said the younger man beside him, also watching the screens.

"You've never _had_ another job," he replied.

It was silent again, the younger man trying to think of a witty come-back, but failing.

"Well, lookie what we have here," the older one leaned forward in his seat, elbows on the counter, eyes looking at one of the screens. "some escapees."

"Are you serious?" The younger looked closer, shocked. "Well I'll be. You ain't kiddin'. Those new guys got free. But how?"

"That ain't the important thing right now." Picking up a phone, the older man spoke. "Ms. Ultimecia--"

"What is it now?"

"Uh…we got some escapees."

"Who is it?"

He was silent for a couple seconds, then spoke, "The four new guys we tossed in cells 401 and 402."

There was a sigh on the other side. "Leave them alone, they won't get far."

"Okay, ma'am, whatever you say," he hung up.

"So?" the younger man looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"We gotta leave them alone."

XxXxX

The laptop was on, numbers and Latin names on the screen. A doctor around fifty sat on a stool in front of a metal desk, hunched over the desk slightly, hands flipping through pages and pages of books, comparing past experiment results to his own, a disappointed look on his face.

"I don't get it… I did _everything_ right! I added the correct amount of everything! Why won't it work!" He hadn't slept in _days_, and it was beginning to show--on his face, as well as in his work. He couldn't stop now, not until he completed this. The other scientists completed their experiments, so why couldn't he? Perhaps it was because his wasn't exactly an animal--personality-wise, maybe, but genetically? No. Mixing human DNA--especially as unique as hers was--with animals' was more difficult than it sounded. He had done everything correctly; or so he thought. Obviously he missed _something_ because he wasn't getting _any_ of the desired results. If only he had more of her DNA to work with, then it may be more possible than it was now. Reporting bad news to the boss was _not_ what he wanted to do, but he may have to if he couldn't figure out how to fix his little problem.

His computer made a _dinging_ sound, causing him to jump. He reached over to the left side of the table and pulled his laptop closer to him, his eyes scanning over the results of the test he had been running. "Hmmm… So that's all I needed?" He stood, walking over to a refrigerator and pulling out a tube filled with liquid. The letter _D_ was written on the tube, and after getting a few other things that he needed, he finished mixing things and ran the proper tests on the computer to see if he had finally completed the first half of his experiment.

Minutes later, the results came in, and he tried to contain his joy--it was too early to get excited. He grabbed the tube and walked over to the circular machine in the center of the room. After inserting the tube into a hole in the machine, he pressed a few buttons, a hologram appearing above the machine. Time to complete the next half.

XxXxX

Kate opened the door to her bedroom in the estate that sat on top of the secret basements where the boss worked 24/7. The room the boss--Ms. Ultimecia--had given her was on the third floor of the estate. The large bed, dresser, and desk didn't fill up the room, but she didn't care; this was the place she came to for some peace and quiet.

Sitting down at the desk, she turned on the computer and waited patiently for it to load everything. Once it was finished, checking her e-mail was her first priority; she hadn't heard from her brother in a while, and that worried her--this was _not_ the kind of place he needed to be in. To be honest, she didn't even know _how_ he had gotten mixed up in all of this. Oh how her hatred for Mr. Ultimecia was growing rapidly.

_Ah, finally my dear younger brother decides to send me a message,_ Kate thought with a little sarcasm but a lot of relief. Having to worry about him was not something she wanted to do in a place such as this.

Silently, she read the message:

_Sis,_

_I found someone else who can help us. She's a prisoner here, but my gut feeling tells me she'll be a lot of help--A LOT. Her name is Paine and she is staying on the second floor, in the large room in the center. Trust me on this, Katey, she's a one-woman army. She can bad-mouth the boss and only get grounded._

_Gotta go and look up more info for Ms. Paine._

_Steven_

Kate smiled, happy about the good news. The more people they had, the better things would _hopefully _turn out. Turning off the computer, she stretched, letting out a yawn. It would feel great to finally get some rest.

The bedroom door opened, causing her to jump and turn around in her seat. She calmed herself down when she saw who it was. "Peritus, have you yet to learn how to knock on a lady's door before entering?"

The man with the medium, spiky black hair, all dressed in black and red, lowered his head slightly. "I did not mean to be rude, I was just eager to find out if you had any word from that brother of yours."

Kate looked at the emotionless, pale face of her ally, and smiled. "And you look it, too." Shaking her head, she decided to get down to business. Peritus wasn't exactly as mean as he looked, but she knew he wasn't one to toy with--or waste the time of. "As a matter of fact, you arrived just on time. Steven just contacted me. He spoke with the Paine you brought here--and apparently he thinks she's a one-woman army."

"What else was said?"

"Oh, not much; he was never much of a talker--always too shy. But he's getting information for Paine. I just hope he doesn't get caught."

"If your brother is as skilled as I think he is, he will be fine. But I will keep a lookout for any suspicions of him betraying her." Peritus bowed before walking back out the door. Standing right outside the room, he looked back at Kate, quickly changing the subject to something more dear to him. "Watch him, Kate, and let me know if she speaks of ay plans involving him."

Kate nodded, aware of the "him's" name, and reason for being caged like the animal he was. She didn't understand--or really know--why she always felt this…_feeling_ coming from Peritus whenever "he" is mentioned; was it hatred, or something else? One would think a man would love his brother, would risk his life for him--in a way, Peritus _was_ risking his life for him, but she had a feeling his reasons were different than simply trying to rescue his loved one from a dangerous enemy. Perhaps she was all wrong about this, simply thinking too much on the subject…

XxXxX

Her eyes stared at the quivering man standing before her, anger and impatience printed all over her face and eyes. "I will ask you ONE. MORE. TIME: how the _hell_ did they _get **loose!"**_

After the security guards had reported to her about her prisoners escaping, she blew a fuse--and this poor man just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time. For the fourth time she had asked him (first two rather calmly, third slightly irritated), and for the fourth--and final--time, he couldn't find the balls to answer her. Luckily for him, her strongest soldier entered, saving the pathetic man's life. And to think: it was just the soldier's second day here.

"You are dismissed, _soldier_," she said to the quivering man, watching him run.

Peritus walked past the running man, completely ignoring him. "Peritus--I want you to figure out how my prisoners escaped," Ultimecia quickly ordered, getting very impatient with the current situation.

"Yes, ma'am," Peritus bowed, understanding his new orders. After this job was done, he needed to pay a visit to his dear friends…

XxXxX

The doctor ran toward the boss' chambers, heart racing. He had to hurry and deliver the news. As he was running, he passed the boss' head soldier--Peritus was his name, no? He didn't remember, but all he knew was that he was a silent guy, never spoke unless giving orders, and tough, as well. He'd heard that he was the one who brought the female test subject here. Of course, that was just a rumor he'd heard, but had no doubt that it was probably true. Peritus _was_ the head soldier.

After almost tripping over his own feet, he finally made it to the room, standing up-right and catching his breath before entering.

"You bring good news, I hope?"

He quickly nodded his head, glasses almost falling off. "Y-yes, yes, ma'am."

"Kome, tell me, then."

Listening without hesitation, he walked down the red carpeted stone floor, toward the rather scary woman pacing back and forth in front of her throne. "Ms. Ultimecia," he bowed, "I bring the results of the experiment--"

"And?" She stopped pacing and looked at him.

"Everything worked perfectly………kind of."

"**Kind of?** What do you mean '**KIND OF**'?" He could see the anger in her eyes…

His heart picked up speed. "Uh…there is a little problem…"

"What _kind_ of problem!"

"I wasn't able to revive the body--" Her hand went around his throat, lifting him a foot off the ground. "T-the--DNA w-worked--b-but…the-the body wouldn't--materialize--properly--" he tried to explain while trying to breathe.

"I GAVE YOU SIMPLE ORDERS AND YOU KOULDN'T EVEN DO _THOSE _RIGHT!" She tossed him to her right, his body sliding and finally stopping a few yards away. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "What do you need to complete the experiment?"

Slowly, he picked himself up, body sore. "I'll need to begin Plan B." Although, at the time, they had no doubt that this would work, they came up with a back-up, just in case. He'd hoped it wouldn't have come to this…

"Fine. When do you need her?"

"It'll take some time to prepare, but if I start right away, I'll need her sometime early in the morning."

"Good, leave now."

He bowed before running out, taking deep breaths when he stood outside the room. Sweat covered his red face, and he rubbed his neck, heart still not calming down. Hopefully that would never happen again.

**_A/N: Please excuse any spelling mistakes and such. I have not been feeling all that well and I apologize for anything spelled incorrectly--as well as the shortness of this chapter. I honestly wish it could be longer, but sometimes it just turns out this way. The next chapter will hopefully be longer._**


	25. Blackout

Disclaimer: I do not own any Final Fantasy characters, worlds, etc.. The only thing that I own are the characters that I have worked very hard to create and the marvelous twisted plot that I have come up with. Do not use any of the stuff that is mine without my permission.

**Chapter XXV**

**Blackout**

_If this world becomes any more confused than it is now, don't be surprised to see monkeys tossing peanuts to people._ --Anonymous

XxXxX

He laid there, in a sleep he may not wake up from. Dr. Kadowaki looked over at him from her seat and sighed. "Seifer, what happened to you?" She didn't expect him to answer, but it would have been nice. It was amazing something like this could happen to Seifer Almasy, of all people. She may not have known exactly what was going on, but she knew it was nothing good.

Looking at the clock, she saw that they had been gone for a while. It was now eight-thirty at night. Hadn't Squall and Yuna left sometime around four that afternoon? And the others left sometime after that… She hoped they were all right; they didn't need anymore of Garden's best students in the infirmary. At a time like this, that was the _last_ thing they needed.

"Dr. Kadowaki!" A little boy of nine years entered the room. "Someone's hurt in the parking lot!"

"Lead the way!" She stood and followed the boy, the door closing behind them.

The light in the infirmary began to dim, flickering some as Peritus stepped out from the shadows. He stood beside the bed that held Seifer Almasy, his eyes looking at him. Carefully, he picked the man up and threw him over his shoulder. It became completely dark in the room, lightning outside lit up the room, showing that the two men were no longer there. Thunder boomed throughout Garden, showing all that It was back.

XxXxX

Everything happened so fast--before they knew it, the skies cleared back up, the previous storm completely disappearing in a matter of seconds, if that. Celcius began moving again, like nothing had ever happened. The people inside that airship were confused, but Brother steered Celcius toward Esthar, anyway.

"And there's the hospital," Quistis pointed at one of the tall buildings within Esthar. The city looked…very normal. Power was on, as far as they could tell, and nothing seemed to be wrong. Landing at the Airship Station, there being enough room to hold both Ragnarok and Celcius, only Rikku, Quistis, and Zell exited.

As they stepped out of the Station, they hoped to see what the problem was (if there had ever been one) when they entered the actual city; there was no problem, though. Everything seemed so…_normal_.

"Yo, talk about _creepy_," Zell muttered from behind the two girls.

"Didn't that Headmaster guy say he couldn't get in touch with them? I don't see why he wouldn't be able to. I mean, look at this place! Everything's fine!"

Quistis nodded. "Yes, that's how it appears on the surface… Maybe they are just having…technical issues."

XxXxX

The power flickered on, stopping the three in their tracks. They looked around cautiously, expecting something to go wrong, but nothing happening. "What the--" Leonhart was interrupted--not by Yuna, Nooj, or even a monster, but by someone walking out from around the corner up ahead. Suddenly the entire area filled with people--patients in the rooms, walking around, nurses and doctors everywhere, everything was back to normal. It all hit like a flood, Squall and them as confused as ever.

"Umm……" Yuna began, not really knowing what to say. "So what now?"

"We get the hell out of this place."

Squall nodded, agreeing with Nooj. "He's right; it's best to leave before the hospital decides to overrun with monsters, again." With the power back on and everything _seeming_ normal, it didn't take nearly as long to find the exit as it did before. Seeing that the storm was gone and it was dark out as they left the very creepy hospital, three very familiar people came into view.

"Squall!" Zell ran up to them, Rikku and Quistis right behind him. "What happened, buddy, and who's the girl?" He hadn't had asked about Nooj because he knew who he was from being at Djose Temple when the Al Bhed had given them his description.

Squall figured he was speaking of the girl on his back. "This is the girl that was found with Nooj," he looked sideways at Nooj, then back at Zell. "None of us know her name."

"And no one really knows what happened, either. One minute we were trying to stay alive, the next there are people walking around!" Yuna finished explaining to them.

"Wow… That's as creepy as what happened to us," Zell scratched his head. "Talk about strange…"

XxXxX

Balamb Garden was very hard to see from the airship because it appeared to have no power. So they landed, fearing the worse. It was raining, thundering, and occasionally the sky was lit up by lightning, all of which made it harder to see the Garden at night. But the team exited Celcius and cautiously entered Garden. When they stepped inside, they saw that the power was, indeed, out. The only light they saw was from a flashlight--and the beam of light was aimed directly at their eyes.

"Oh--sorry!"

Squall squinted his eyes to see Xu. "What happened?"

"The current storm knocked the power out. Even the back-up won't work," she explained, shining the light on the group, but making sure it didn't blind them. "Who's the girl, Squall?"

"None of your concern. Do you have an extra flashlight?"

"No, sorry, but I can be your guide. Where do you need to go?"

"The infirmary," he answered, wore out from carrying the coma girl. "Where's Dr. Kadowaki?"

"She's tending to someone in the parking lot. Follow me and keep close," Xu lead the way, Squall, Yuna, Nooj and Zell being the only ones that followed, the rest staying behind at the entrance.

It wasn't hard to find the infirmary with the flashlight and Squall was first to enter. But he froze in his tracks when he heard Quistis, Xu, and even Zell gasp. "What?" he quickly asked, looking around the infirmary expecting to see some monster or something.

"He's--he's _gone_!" it was Quistis who had answered.

"Who's gone?" Leonhart was tired of all the surprises.

"Seifer, he was right there, in that bed! And he couldn't have left because he was in a coma!"

"_What!_" So very tired of the surprises. "What the hell _happened_ here!"

Quistis took a seat, hand to her head, Xu shining the light on the group. "Before Seifer had fallen into a coma, Rinoa and Edea had sensed _her,_ Squall, and we believe she has something to do with Seifer's coma."

Oh yeah, Squall knew who '_her'_ was. Ultimecia. From the shock, he lost his grip on the girl, but Zell caught her before she hit the ground. "Whoooaa, close call," he carried her to the closest bed, carefully put her on it.

"Ultimecia…" Squall thought all this was just one terrible nightmare. How could this be true? Hadn't they ended Ultimecia?

"Squall… We should probably report to Cid," Quistis stood, looking at him.

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea." A lot had obviously happened.

XxXxX

"Ah, you're back safe and sound," Cid greeted them at the door, Xu offering everyone light from the flashlight. Though Cid himself had a flashlight of his own, the combined light was very much appreciated.

"Sir," Squall saluted, thinking of a good place to begin. "When Yuna and I arrived at the Esthar hospital, we visited a friend of Paine's that some Estharian soldiers had found earlier. It turned out to be Nooj, but he was not alone. A girl, possibly around eight or nine years old, had been found with him. No one, even Nooj, knows the girl's name. It was during this time that Nooj had woken up and was telling us what he last remembered when…" he hesitated, remembering what had happened perfectly. "when we all heard this laughter echo throughout the hospital, and then the power went out."

Headmaster Cid was taking this all in, listening very closely. "And where is the girl?"

"She's in the infirmary, in a coma."

"Not another one… Continue," he said with a sigh.

"Shortly after, we had been attacked by monsters. I don't know how much time passed by, but eventually the power kicked back on and everything was back to normal."

"Hmmm… Strange. What took you so long to get to them, Quistis?"

"A storm, sir; it had…stopped us in our tracks by…holding us down." Even though she knew it was true, saying it out loud made her think she was going crazy.

Everyone looked at her, probably wondering, as well, if she'd lost it.

"It's true!" Yuna spoke up. "Something very similar happened to us on Spira. Except it had pulled us down into the ocean."

Cid had a hard time believing this, even if he knew they would never lie about such a thing. "What you're saying is…that the _storm_ has a mind of its own?"

The girls didn't speak for a second, both trying to make sure they weren't actually losing it, but nodded, saying, "Yes."

The older man sighed, immediately going to his seat and sitting. "But…that's not all, sir," he heard Quistis say. "What else could have possibly--" Quistis interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.

"Seifer's missing."

"What? I thought he was in a coma?"

"We did too, but he's missing and no one saw him exit the infirmary. So… I don't know _what's_ happened to him," Quistis seemed like she was still trying to grasp all that has happened.

"You said the girl was in the infirmary?" Cid asked Leonhart.

"Yes."

"Put extra security inside and outside that infirmary. I don't want anyone except you, Dr. Kadowaki, and SeeD's going into that room, understood?"

Squall nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Squall, keep a close eye on our new coma girl, and Xu, please make sure Nooj has a room to stay in."

"Yes, sir!" Xu saluted, quickly leaving, half of their light going with her.

"Dismissed."

XxXxX

Sitting there, in that chair beside the bed, his eyes couldn't stop looking at the non-human girl. On the outside, she looked so innocent, so human, but he knew better than that; if what Nooj had told him was true, this girl was _not_ human. Innocent, though? He wasn't so sure about that. But what could she _be,_ then? A monster in disguise? He wasn't so sure of anything, anymore.

A SeeD--one of their best--sneezed, breaking Squall's train of thought. They had placed four SeeD's in the room, three outside, and yet, Squall had a feeling that wasn't enough. Something in the back of his mind said that is was _his_ doing--the man that kidnapped Paine was somehow involved. He could have easily been the one who had taken Seifer, considering he can teleport.

_And that's just what we need, isn't it? An enemy that can come and go as he pleases,_ Leonhart leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands. Why was all of this happening? Why couldn't they, just once, live in peace? He had to be honest with himself--things were never going to be peaceful around here; there would always be something bad, something evil like Ultimecia. Never would peace truly come and stay.

This world was changing daily; its population growing rapidly. Everyday, there were new places showing up, being left behind by the storm, the storm that caused so much trouble for them. It couldn't be just a storm, but if it wasn't, then what was it?

The door opened, and Quistis entered the room. "How is she?"

"Still in the coma," he answered, straightening back up in his chair to look over at Trepe.

She walked over to the bed, placing her left hand on the end of the bed. "We'll find her, you know; we'll get her back."

Silence. Then he spoke, "…I know." Part of him still blamed himself for the kidnapping of Paine. Had he just followed her sooner…

"Hey," Quistis, obviously knowing what he was thinking about, placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. No one knew that they were even after her. You can't blame yourself for this. It's not like you can predict the future, Squall."

"But I could have at _least_ done my job and watched her more closely."

She kept silent after his response, but then looked at him with sad eyes. "Go get some sleep; you need it." Before he could even speak, she added, "I'll watch her, so don't worry."

XxXxX

She sat in her dorm, on the bed, legs curled under her.

"So, there I was--hey! Are you listenin' to me?"

Eyes focusing on the bright-eyed girl on the floor before her, Rinoa said, "Oh, sorry! I guess I got lost in my thoughts!"

Selphie jumped up to her feet and plopped down on the bed beside her. "Squall's rubbing off on you. So what were you thinkin' 'bout?"

"Just…stuff," she glanced around the dim room, the candles not putting out quite enough light.

"Ooooo, just _stuff_? I wanna know!"

Rinoa giggled, folding her hands on her lap. "Well, I was just thinking about everything, that's all. So much has happened that's it's hard to believe it's real. Part of me is amazed and excited about the new places being discovered. Who would have ever thought there was another world out there!" She could barely contain her excitement. And then her eyes lowered, voice growing softer. "But then when I think about the bad side to all of this, I feel scared and worried for everyone at the same time. And the more I think about it, the more I worry for Paine. She's stuck in the middle of all this, and now she could be with Ultimecia!" Heartilly couldn't help but feel angry at Ultimecia and allow a tear to roll down her cheek.

"Oh, sweetie," Selphie put an arm around her, a smile on her face. "Don't think those bad thoughts. Paine's all right. She's probably already escaped and is on her way back. That witch can't keep someone like Paine locked up for long!"

Chuckling, she agreed. "Paine does seem like a hand-full, doesn't she? She may not talk much, but she's got attitude."

"Yup, she sure does!"

Rather quickly, Rinoa changed the subject. "Do you think Seifer will be all right?"

Selphie nodded. "Yup, he's resting in the infirmary. Squall went there to put a little girl in there, so I'm sure he's okay."

"Oh? What's wrong with the girl?" asked Rinoa, curiously.

"I think he said she was in a coma too, like Seifer."

"…Ultimecia related?"

Tilmitt's eyes widened. "Oh, well, I don't know. They never said. I just assumed they found her in the hospital and a monster threatened her life or somethin'."

"Let's go ask!" Rinoa jumped to her feet, suddenly very curious about this little girl. She grabbed a flashlight out of the desk draw (she may have liked the candles more, but flashlights gave them more light and they didn't want to bump into anyone!), and checked to make sure it still worked, which it did, and off they went.

They didn't stumble into anyone or anything, thanks to the flashlight, but soon after Rinoa thought there wouldn't be anyone roaming about, they almost bumped into Yuna.

"Oh, Yuna! Hi!" Rinoa smiled, the light showing a friendly smile on Yuna's face.

"Hello, Rinoa and…"

"Selphie!"

"Selphie," the newcomer laughed, lowering her own flashlight which was lent by one of the students here. "I'm sorry if I surprised you. This place is still kind of new and strange in the dark."

'That's okay! We were actually looking for someone to ask questions to. Would you happen to know anything about the girl Squall sent to the infirmary?"

"Um… Not much, but…um…you may want to talk to Nooj or Squall about her."

"…Nooj?" Rinoa didn't recognize the name.

"Nooj. What a funny name," said Selphie in the background with a giggle.

"Yes, Nooj. It's kinda hard to miss him. He's got really long hair and has a machina leg and arm. But I don't know where he is. We went out separate ways after we left the infirmary. Oh! Except for Squall, he stayed."

"Oh, okay! Thank you! We'll go speak to him, then!" Yuna said "you're welcome" and Selphie and Rinoa headed toward the infirmary to go speak with Squall.

XxXxX

Someone opened the door, causing Quistis Trepe to look up from her place at Kadowaki's desk and at the door. The SeeD's let Rinoa and Selphie in, and Quistis greeted them, not moving from her seat.

"Hello. If you're looking for Squall, I sent him to go rest about thirty minutes ago."

"Bummer…" said Tilmitt, sighing.

"Oh well. We can try again later--" Rinoa happened to look over at the resting unknown girl. "That's her? Hey--where's Seifer!"

Quistis honestly didn't want to tell her since she knew the young woman still cared for him. "He's missing, Rinoa. We don't know how or even why, just that he's missing."

Rinoa was silent, jaw slightly down. "He's missing!" Selphie spoke for her. "No way! Who would even dare take him? I mean, it's SEIFER, for crying out loud!"

"I know." Quistis looked at the worried face of Heartilly.

"Boy are _they_ stupid with a capital 'S'!"

"Um…I think I need to, um, lie down," and with that said, Rinoa left the room, leaving Selphie behind, flashlight-less.

Selphie and Quistis just stared after her, the candle light making shadows dance on the wall.

"Let her process it all, Selphie," Quistis said when Tilmitt took a step toward the door.

Slowly, she nodded her head. "Okay."

XxXxX

She knew she shouldn't worry, that it wouldn't help any of them, but she just couldn't help it; she feared for their safety--both Paine's and Seifer's, now. With her knees up by her chest, she sat, back against one of the bookcases in the far back of the library. It was as quiet as usual, dark, though; the flashlight barely put out enough light, the battery almost dead.

That's just what she needed. To be sitting in the library, in the dark, all alone, a perfect time for something bad to happen.

Sighing, she closed her eyes to think. What was she going to do? What _could_ she do? She felt helpless; but then again, Squall probably felt the same way. He couldn't do anything to save Paine, and now Seifer--of all people--has been taken, as well! The two may have not liked each other, but they dealt with one another. After what happened, she wouldn't be surprised if Squall was just lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling like it's the best thing in the world. She felt like doing that right now, but instead, she just sat there, thinking to herself in the barely lit up corner of the library where she was.

That's when she opened her eyes and saw nothing.

The flashlight had died.

_Oh, this is just **great**,_ she thought to herself, feeling for the flashlight and trying to click it on when she _did_ manage to find it. A book hit the floor, Rinoa jumping, completely startled. "H-hello?" she called out, hoping for _some_one to answer, but at the same time, afraid they would. "Hello?" she called out once more, voice stronger and a little louder this time. "Anyone there?"

A/N: Yes, it was supposed to end like that. I thank all my reviewers for reading as far as they have. More twisted, evil plot twists ahead!


	26. Confusion is a Common Emotion

Disclaimer: I only own the stuff I created, plot included.

**Timo (Ultimate Xdeath): Thank you for reviewing! Whenever I get the chance, I'll review your fics, as well! I'm actually almost done reading chapter two of that Seifer fic of yours. Forgot the name... Heh. MLC!**

**Chapter XXVI**

**Confusion is a Common Emotion**

**XxXxX**

_Through avarice, evil smiles; through insanity, it sings. --Anonymous_

XxXxX

The door slid open, revealing the white-haired young man helping the half-conscious Al Bhed stand, behind them was the third member of their party: the younger brother of the Al Bhed who sacrificed his life for the group. The trio walked through the doorway and continued walking a few yards until the hall opened up to the left, right, and ahead of them: the hallway ahead of them was about three feet wide and continued a few yards, at the end they could see a metal door matching that of a cell door, and hallways to the left and right; the one to the left ended about twelve or so yards with a right turn; and the hallway to their right ended with a right and left turn.

When Baralai looked to the left, he noticed that there were three cells that could be seen: two on the right side of the wall and one on the left across from the first one of the right. The reason _why_ he saw these three cells was because their metal doors were wide open. And when he looked to the right, _four_ cells--two on the left, two on the right--had their doors wide open. As he looked left again, he got the distinct feeling that something was not right.

"What's…what's that smell…?" asked Gippal in a low voice, head slightly bowed. His wounds were bleeding badly, but they had nothing to stop the bleeding, and unfortunately they probably never will.

Sniffing the air, Baralai could smell what the injured Al Bhed could smell. "I…don't know, Gippal." It was a foreign smell to him--at least until the memories of the Den of Woe came back to him. "It's--"

"Pmuut," Little Guy finished for him, sniffing the air, a disgusted look on his tan features.

Baralai assumed the two of the were talking about the same thing. If he was remembering what little Al Bhed he knew correctly, the Al Bhed had just said "blood"; so yes, they _were_ talking about the same thing.

--A shuffling sound coming from the--

_--right!_ The Praetor and Little Guy looked quickly to their right, eyes snapping as wide as they could get.

There was a tall, bald man shuffling along toward them, his eyes gray and emotionless--much like the look on his pale face. What caught their attention the most was his clothing: loose, blood-stained tan shirt and pants. Blood was also all over his face, mostly around his mouth area.

"E drehg fa cuimt nih," spoke Little Guy, voice low and full of worry.

Even if the only word Baralai understood was RUN, he could pretty much _guess_ what else was said. "Agreed," he said just as the blood-stained hands belonging to the man _several_ yards away from them reached out toward them…then he suddenly charged.

The group turned and ran as fast as they could. Gippal couldn't move very fast on his own because the loss of a lot of blood was getting to him, but Baralai helped him run as much as he could. They passed the first two open cells, a short hallway to their right a few feet down--

Baralai froze in horror as he stared at the scene in the middle of that hallway. "Oh my--"

"Fryd dra _ramm_?" Gippal had looked up at the scene, as well, the smell they'd smelled before coming from the bloody and torn up _human body_ lying in its own pool of blood. If it had once had a right arm, it didn't anymore. Oh wait--there that arm was, lying a foot or two away from the bloody mess of what had once been a while person.

The two were pushed onward by Little Guy, and they passed the bloody hall and continued straight ahead as fast as they could. When they turned right, out of the corner of his eye, Baralai saw the man turn into the hallway they had passed up. And then a second later he could hear the man rip what flesh was left on that body and _eat it_; Baralai ignored these sounds, blocked them out as best as he could as they ran straight down the long hallway. They'd passed up another long hallway with cells to their right, but they did not turn, but continued forward. The hall turned right a few yards down, and when they did, they slowed down a little, seeing nothing but another long hall.

The Praetor was slowly losing what faith he had; were they never going to get out of this place? He sighed softly, but did not stop walking. At least until yet another hallway came up on their left. It was a dead end, but there was a single door halfway down. "We'll check out that room down there, since it doesn't appear to be a cell," he said to Gippal and Little Guy, hoping Little Guy understood him clearly.

He appeared to have indeed understood him because they now walked down that dead-ended hallway, to the single door--

"It needs the cards," Baralai noticed, looking down at Gippal. The Al Bhed handed him both cards and Baralai tried them both, the second one working, unlocking the door with a _click_. He pushed the door open and helped the injured one walk inside the dark room.

_Click_, light flood the room, startling both he and Gippal. "_Fryd dra ramm!_" shrieked a surprised Gippal.

Little Guy stood next to a switch of some sort, him having obviously been the one who made the room light up. "Luum…" was all he said, looking around the large room. There were tables all lined up six in a row, bookcases full of small items behind the rows of tables, which had different kinds of weapons laid on them.

The scene before them surprised Baralai, but Little Guy walked forward, searching the tables. "Oui bnupypmo cruimt caynlr vun ouin faybuhc. E tuh'd ryja yha, pid E lyh ramb oui caynlr vun ouinc."

"He says we should look for our weapons and that he doesn't have one, but he'll help us look for ours," Gippal translated for the Praetor. Although injured, he left Baralai's side and shakily walked toward one of the tables and began searching. Baralai watched his injured friend for a few moments before searching for his own weapon.

Gippal whistled loudly. "Hey, think I found something." He walked over to one of the bookcases and pulled a bag off a shelf. "This is Paine's backpack."

He raised his eyebrows, shocked to hear this. "Oh? How do you know that?"

"See this?" The Al Bhed pointed to a spot on the front of the bag where stitches could be seen. "She was…attacked one day and the fiend kinda sliced into her…bag so she had to…uh…stitch it back up." He seemed to be ignoring the pain he had as he opened the bag and looked through it. "Her dresspheres and…and a potion…"

"Take it! It should heal your wounds!"

After swallowing the rather disgusting potion, the effects of it began to work as the claw wounds on his chest slowly disappeared, the open wounds closing up. The process itself was painful, but it was worth it. A few moments later, all proof to show that he had once been attacked was gone except for the tears in his shirt where the fiend sliced. "I feel _gooood_." Gippal stretched, feeling no more pain as he did so. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he smiled. "Now that we know Dr. P is here, let's go find her."

Baralai held up his weapon in one hand, then raised the other to show that he had found the beautiful warrior's sword. "She'll want this, as well, whenever we find her." Gippal agreed, grabbing his gun (that was the only weapon he had on him at the time he "disappeared").

The group left the room, Little Guy shutting the door behind them. No strange sounds came to their ears; as a matter of fact, NO sounds at _all_ could be heard. Wait--footsteps… They all got ready for something to turn the corner up ahead… And something did--or someone, rather: tall, a definite man, his hair choppy and black and would probably be shoulder-length if the man actually _used a comb_, which, personally, Gippal didn't think he even knew what one was. His clothing consisted of black baggy pants, the ends of which were tucked into his knee-high army style type of boots; for a shirt, he wore a tight, long-sleeved black shirt, one that showed every muscle in his upper body. Over that shirt was a sleeveless trench coat, the color being black. In short: the man wore a _lot_ of black. Even his eyes were black and emotionless.

Time just seemed to stop--Gippal didn't know _how_ long they'd been standing there, staring at the man in black. Then, as if the strange dude was BORED, he turned around and _walked away _down the hall to their left. HE JUST WALKED AWAY. All Gippal could do was drop his jaw and blink. "Uh…what just happened?" he asked, pointing ahead of them where the strange dude once stood.

XxXxX

"_Please, listen to me! You must stop this work before she finds out!" pleaded a woman, her long white hair glowing red from the dancing flames in the fireplace behind her. Red eyes were shadowed from the light, her face almost hidden, yet one could still see the worry on her face. A chair to her left, one to her right, she and both chairs were on a red carpet that covered the small area beneath them in front of the crackling fireplace, the flames illuminating a soft red glow onto anything and everything nearby._

_Footsteps echoed throughout the large den, growing softer as the one making the sound walked away from the pleading woman. Shadows were cast over the rest of the room, two couches placed across from one another with a large oval table in the middle barely being seen. "Don't you walk away from me! You know I'm right! You know she'll kill us **all**!"_

_Whoever was walking away from her didn't seem to be paying any attention to her. They just walked away, completely ignoring the woman's pleading words, her soft sobs. One of the heavy wooden door northwest of the woman slammed shut, the picture frames shaking in their places on the wall. The woman fell to the floor, the carpet burning her knees as she did so. Tears began to flow uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking. She shook her head slowly, warm tears still coming. "She'll kill us all…" Her right hand was on her swollen stomach, and even with shadows cast over her front, one could still see that she was halfway along a pregnancy--_

Paine shot up from her lying position on the bed with a gasp, eyes wide. _Another strange dream…_ she slowed down her breathing to a normal pace. Honestly she didn't know _what_ to think of that dream--she'd never dreamt about the pregnant woman before, so why now? Shrugging it off and deciding to think about it later or never again, Paine removed the blanket on her and put it to the right of her--something went flying toward the wall, bouncing off, flying by her and rolling off the edge of the bed. She would have grabbed it when it had flown by her but she merely just leaned back a little, leaning over the edge of the bed to see a small, clear sphere roll underneath the large bed.

"What the hell?" Paine hung upside-down over the edge to look underneath the bed, seeing the sphere stop rolling when it hit the wall. She swung the rest of her body off the bed, immediately crawling underneath to reach the sphere. Body now halfway under, her arm out-stretched--but the sphere rolled away toward the far corner, Paine cursing as she pulled herself further under the bed. "Oh--" Her hand had fallen on something that caught her attention: a small hole in the floor. After she'd placed her finger in that hole and pulled up, a large square piece of the floor came up, revealing quite a drop underneath, but at least there was a ladder.

And after some fighting and cursing, her legs finally went down in the hole, feet finding one of the bars belonging to the ladder, and in a few moments, she was fully in the hole; it had been difficult, considering the small space between the floor and bed, but Paine had managed to do it. Everything went black after she put the floor back where it had been in the beginning. _Shouldn't be too hard to find my way down, right? All I have to do is take it slowly, one step at a time-_ Her left foot missed the ladder bar _completely_, Paine hitting her forehead on a bar. Head bouncing off that bar, she lost whatever grip she'd had and fell down into the darkness…

x X x

_Running running running. Tired. Out of breath. Confused. Frightened. Why? _

_"ROOOOAAAARRRR!" That's why. Heavy footsteps, heart pounding. Lost. Hallways all look the same. Must get away. Heat coming from behind. Hot. FIRE!--_

_A flash of light._

_Water. Rushing, roaring water. Cold. Can't breathe. Water getting into lungs. PAIN! Everything red. Dizzy. Darkness…heart…slowing down…voices…distant…voices…_

_"Paine!"_

_"Pai-"_

_Evil laughter. Screams of pure terror and pain. All is red and blurry. Why is everything darkening…? Land. No more water. No more screaming. Land. Soft dirt. Wobbling. Spinning. PAIN! Screams of pain! My screams! Tears and screams of pain. Hurts so much! Footsteps running, coming closer. Warm breath. Gentle hands. Can't see so dark._

_"Shhhh, calm down. I'm here to help." Voice so calm and…and…familiar…_

XxXxX

He'd already sent the e-mail to his sister. Now he just stayed in his room, sitting at his desk, searching for information on his computer that might be helpful to Paine. The animals had already been fed, and this time he had brought extra mice for Perfidus, but he never answered him, so Steven assumed the man was sleeping.

Now that is was three-fifteen in the morning (he fed the animals at two AM, noon, and five), everyone on the third flood were supposed to be asleep. His sister was on this floor, but the two couldn't act like they knew each other, so they never saw one another.

Successfully hacking into the security system, Steven was going to check on Paine to make sure she was **actually behaving**. But his hopes vanished when he saw that the room was **very** empty of any Paine. She couldn't get out--the only exit was the door that led out to the hall, but it was locked. So what happened to her? Did they come and take her? He had an idea. That scientist guy knew _everything_; maybe something was on his computer. It didn't take much too long for Steven to hack into his computer. The old man was way too cocky and thought no one would dare hack into _his_ computer, so it only took a little over five minutes.

'_Experiment one, first try: failed--not enough Draconis deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), as well as original._

_……Experiment one, second try: successful--one pint of--'_

Steven skimmed through a lot of it, not really understanding any of it, nor caring at all. These experiments were normal. Just more for him to feed three times a day.

'_--experiment two, first try: failed--second try: failed--third try: failed--'_ "Whoa…" Ten times the scientist tried to get this experiment to work. Ten times! And every time he failed! "What were you trying to do…?"

'…_body tissue could not be recreated. Too little of original DNA sample……must transfer mind and spirit to another body until original can be fixed…'_ "What?" If only he understood better… He was a soldier, _not_ a scientist. His sister would know, though. He'll have to send a copy of this to her so she can explain it to him. But since this information wouldn't help Paine, he might as well continue to search for something that would. So he skimmed through pages and pages of research, not finding anything of any use.

"Hey, I think I found something." Codes. A lot of codes. He probably used them for…uh… Okay, so Steven didn't know _what_ he could have possibly used them for. There really wasn't that many codes--fifteen, at the most. It really wouldn't be hard for him to memorize these codes. He finally banged his head against the keyboard out of frustration-- "Oh no!" The current window began flipping through all the security cameras in the entire estate--basement levels included--, and that was a **LOT**. "Stop stop stop!" Pressing keys, he tried to get it to stop. If it continued to do this they'd surely know what he's been doing--it stopped. "Huh?" Steven looked at the security camera it had stopped on.

Three men--two blonds, one white haired--walked toward the elevators. Escapees? _Wait! I think I know them!_ Where had he read about them? Checking the scientist's files again, he found the right one:

'_Two captives: Gippal from Djose Temple and Baralai from Bevelle. Both good friends of Paine--a skilled warrior from Spira.'_ But wait. There was no mention of the third guy. And the above places weren't even on Gala! Nor did they exist! He was about to read further when his computer screen went black--

"What the--"

"_Y-"_ Steven had shot up out of his chair and stumbled backwards, knocking the chair over, before anymore of the white letters could show on the screen. "Oh _shit!_" He just stared wide-eyed at the screen as more letters appeared. Finally remembering that it was just some stupid computer and it couldn't hurt him, he took one baby step closer--now four feet away from the very haunted computer. He leaned forward a couple inches (and no further) to read what was on the screen.

"_You should go to B3 immediately--you are needed in the security room. Help her before they kill her."_

"As if I should listen to you…" he muttered, glaring at the haunted computer.

"_JUST DO IT, STEVEN."_

And Steven was out of the room before his name had even finished appearing on the computer screen.

After the young man had left the room, the computer screen went back to normal. A message appeared on the screen, saying an e-mail from Kate had been received.

XxXxX

It was three-twenty-three AM, and Kate was tired, lying in her bed, unable to sleep. Her mind was just full of random thoughts. It was just stress, that was all. This was normal for her; after a few minutes of lying here, she'd eventually fall asleep. Until then, she'd stared at the ceiling.

_Knockknockknock._

_Who is it **now?**_ Kate rose and got off the bed, walking quickly to the door and opening it. "Oh--Cerah! What brings you--"

"We need to talk," the woman pushed her way into Kate's room, quietly shutting the door, her voice in a low whisper as she spoke. "Are you alone?"

How confused Kate was. "Uh…yeah. What's this about?"

Yang was trembling all over--the news was definitely big and _not_ good news. "Sh-she--"

"Deep breath."

Taking that deep breath and letting it out slowly, it didn't help much, but she continued anyway. "She-she kn-knows!"

_Oh no--_ "What? How is this possible? We've kept very quiet and--"

"I over-heard some soldiers talking and they're going to interrogate everyone here! They think there's a resistance going on! Kate, they're going to interrogate the scientists first!"

This could _not_ be happening. If only it weren't true… Ultimecia allowed her soldiers to do anything in an interrogation--_anything_. The last person to be interrogated--or tortured in order to get answers one more than likely didn't have--was only tortured for five minutes before she confessed. And Kate knew she was innocent! After that five minutes of torture, she was _never_ the same again--and once she got back to her room, she committed suicide. Being interrogated by the soldiers was _not_ good. _Oh my Hyne. Will they **really** interrogate every person **here**?_ Ultimecia won't have anyone left to-- "Cerah!" Her eyes went wide. The witch had never planned to interrogate all of her people, or any, for that matter. "Oh my Hyne! You've led them straight to us!"

Kate quickly ran over to the computer, typing up an e-mail and sending it to her brother. He needed to get out of here. They would connect her to him and she couldn't have her brother going through that torture. She wasn't going to take him down with her. _The maps of the estate are in the e-mail. If he follows the secret passages--_

Footsteps. Many footsteps. _They're coming!_ Without a second's hesitation she erased _everything_ on her computer and turned to face the door, her left hand opening the desk draw-- The door was kicked down, men in black clothing and big guns bursting into the room, Cerah screaming, Kate's hand coming out of the draw--and she'd thrown a grenade--_BANG!_ Her body went backwards, crashing into the computer then falling to the floor with a _thump_. She lay there, motionless as another scream pierced through the room before a big--

--explosion.

XxXxX

The floor beneath him and the walls around him shook violently--and yet he stood still, the explosion that had apparently gone off not effecting him, only everything around him. Shaking his head, his hair falling over the right side of his face, the man in only black leaned against the wall of the hallway, footsteps being heard coming toward him. Although the explosion had taken place on the third floor of the estate (four floors about him), the effects still could be felt in the basement levels.

He crossed his arms, a group of men running by him toward the stairs; they were headed to the scene of the explosion. The men in black didn't even stop to ask the man who he was--the humans were not even away of his presence. How easy it was to manipulate their minds so they wouldn't see him. It bored him, but he did it anyway because they would throw such a fit if they were to see him. She would most _definitely_ be over-dramatic if she were to find him out of his cage. Apparently she thought he was an _animal_, a beast too dangerous to be kept out of his cage. How right she was.

No more men rushed by him and it was silent once more. He stared down the hall they ran down, soft footsteps coming front the right--where the soldiers had come from.

"Aaahh. So you are the one I have heard so much about."

The man's voice he recognized to be Ultimecia's "side-kick"; his name he did not remember. Actually, he didn't think he even knew it, but as if he really cared what his name was. As to how the man could see him--now _that_ he was confused on, but found it amusing. "How is it that I am able to be see by such a person as you?" his voice had a playful tone in it as he spoke, but he never turned his head to look at the man.

A pause--the man probably shrugged. "I do not know. Tell me: what is your name? "

He turned his head to look at the man, taking in his appearance. The man wore dark, tight pants; the other thing he wore was a long robe, the colors different shades of blue, the sleeves covering most of his rather large hands. Around his waist was a large ribbon tied to look like a bow. A net with tassels on the end was underneath this robe-like clothing. Most of his chest and stomach was shown, strange tattoos on his chest being visible. Out of all of this, though, he thought the man's blue hair was the strangest of all: some of it was up in the air then flowing down like water. Even the markings on his face weren't as strange as his hair.

"Why is my name of any importance, hm?"

A smirk was on the man's face. "Because I'd like to tell Ultimecia the name of the person I've killed."

Chuckling, he thought this was amusing: the man thought he could kill _him_. "Perhaps you shouldn't underestimate your opponent." Oh yes, the man had power, but was it enough to over-power _him_?

"So very true. I am being a bit too cocky, am I not?"

"Just leave before I decide to mop these halls with your blood."

"Or is it not I being cocky, but you?"

There was the sound of a door being shut, a female presence being sensed by him--he knew who it was and grinned. "And let the games begin."


	27. Dreams Galore

_A/N: My apologies for taking so long in updating. Life is rather hectic at the moment, and I have not had a chance to really sit down and _**think**_ until just recently. But, enough of the excuses - here is your long awaited chapter. I do hope you enjoy; I feel as if it isn't the BEST of my chapters, but that is my opinion. For a chapter that was done on very little sleep and a most lovely headache, I think I did a pretty damn good job. Anyway, enjoy._

_PS: If there are any spelling mistakes, please, do excuse them - I couldn't be more tired right now, so I do not feel like re-reading this to make sure everything is correct. Just push any mistakes to the side, please. Thank you._

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fanfic except for the stuff that I created - my characters, my creatures, and my plot, and anything else that is mine.

**Chapter XXVII**

**Dreams Galore**

XxXxX

_As I try to sleep  
__My mind races.  
__It goes so fast  
__A thought isn't complete  
__Before another begins.  
__As the sun rises  
__A new day begins  
__Before the last one ends. -- My mother_

x -X -x

Tossing and turning, the young man slept all but peacefully. Sweat stuck his white t-shirt to his chest, covered his face and gave him a glossy look. The sheets were entangling his legs like a white snake, twisting the legs of his loose black sweats.

_Rushing water, screams of pain - he ran through the forest toward the water and screams. But he wasn't moving! Looking down, he found he was running in place; he ran faster, his normal black clothes feeling very heavy right now - his gunblade! It was gone! And what kept him from running!_

_More screams, but all he could do was run in place! The trees and bushes ahead of him moved out to the sides, revealing a rushing river, someone splashing -- no, DROWNING -- in it! A large fin circled the person drowning even as both the person and river flowed down stream. The water began to turn red -- but the person somehow managed to gain control of themselves and swim to land. He could now see the person rising from the water -- PAINE! She looked dizzy, not quite in a good state of mind, blood oozing from her right leg. He opened his mouth to scream her name, but nothing came out._

_The badly injured woman wobbled toward him, but he could tell from the look in her red eyes that she didn't see him or **anything** at all. Suddenly her right side went down, her foot falling into a deep hole, twisting her entire right leg the **very** wrong way. She went one way, her leg the other. A scream of pure pain came out of her mouth -- he could move! At full speed he ran to her side, kneeling down and immediately seeing how bad the injury was. And it was **bad.**_

_Down in the hole, there were **spikes** that made themselves a home in her badly twisted leg. There was no way he was getting her leg out. When he looked at her face, he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks; she was in so much pain. "Shhhh, calm down. I'm here to help." He felt helpless -- he **was** helpless! Gently petting the side of her head, he tried his best to calm her down a little while he tried to think of how to help her._

_There was no way!_

_As she lay there, crying out in pain, he had never felt so helpless before. His eyes grew wide as he just **stared** at the woman in his arms -- she was fading away! How -- it wasn't possible! She'd been lying right there, leg in the hole, but now she was gone! "PAINE!" Quickly he shot up to his feet, spinning around, looking everywhere for her._

_Water sprouted up from the river, the beast that had attacked her showing itself: it was huge and gray, two large shark heads with white eyes looking at him. The monster was extremely **LARGE.** One of its eyes was easily the size of his hand! But it just stayed where it was, halfway out of the river. It began to shrink as it came toward him, slowly taking the form of a woman in a tight, black dress, the silver hair, purple marking on her face, and horns on her head **UNMISTAKABLE** - it was none other than Ultimecia._

_He could not speak, could not move, could only watch as the evil woman walked toward him, stopping a foot away. "It does not feel so good to feel **helpless**, now does it, Squall?" She circled him much like the way the shark had done with Paine. "You look surprised to see me again. I was expekting a friendly greeting, at least." Stopping back in front of him, she continued to speak. "Do not worry so much about her, Squall; she is perfektly safe. Well, safe for the time being, anyway."_

_That bitch! What was she going to do to Paine! "You better not touch her, you bitch! If you do, I'll hunt your ass down and send you back to Hell where you belong!" Those words of his he said with the coldest, most harshest voice known to man._

_She chuckled -- she just **chuckled.** "Keep your eyes open at all time, Squall. You're a worthy opponent - I'd like to see you make it past the much bigger threats. **NOT!**" Her evil laughter echoed throughout the entire place--_

Squall shot up in his bed, breathing hard. He wiped the sweat off his face with one hand, lying back down and resting his head on the pillow once more. _Ultimecia… Was it just a dream? It felt so…so **real**, though…_ Yeah, it had to be only a dream; he hadn't slept in days, was _very_ stressed, so it _had_ to be just a dream. Unwrapping the sheets from his legs, he sat on the edge of the bed, bare feet touching the floor. He sighed, pushing himself to stand and walk over to the bathroom feet away. The door to this bathroom was right next to his desk and gunblade case, so it wasn't very far away.

For a few moment he just stood leaned against the sink, head bowed. His fingers taped slightly against the counter, his eyes shut tight. What a headache he had. The more he thought about the dream, the more it seemed that it wasn't a random dream; maybe Ultimecia was- No. He would _not_ think like that. If only he didn't have this headache… He looked up at the mirror above the sink--and stumbled backwards, eyes as wide as they could have been. Instantly he mouthed the name "Ultimecia" as he stared upon the woman's face that took place of his own in that mirror. Quickly his eyes blinked, now seeing his own face before him.

Thunder boomed outside, snapping him back to reality and causing him to jump slightly. He shook his pounding head, deciding it's just his imagination (well, that's what he _wanted_ to believe, anyway), and left the bathroom to get his clothes from the dresser. After changing into his regular black pants and white t-shirt, he figured he didn't need his black jacket, so he left it there, hanging on the back of the desk chair. Slipping into his boots, Leonhart left the room after grabbing his flashlight, but the occasional flashes of lightning also helped guide his way out of the room and down the hall.

The power was still not on, all of the students in their dorms sleeping, making it a very dark and quiet Garden. _Quistis is probably still watching over her for me,_ he thought, remembering that only a few hours ago he'd let Quistis watch over the coma girl while he left to get some rest. What time was it, though? He hadn't thought to look at the clock in his dorm. Oh well, it didn't matter; he wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon.

Nodding at the three SeeDs outside the Infirmary door, they let him pass and enter the room. The other four SeeDs inside the room stepped out of the way so he could walk up to Quistis Trepe, who was still at her place at Dr. Kadowaki's desk. Kadowaki was probably resting elsewhere.

"Squall! What are you doing up? It's three-fifteen in the morning!" exclaimed a rather surprised Trepe. Obviously she hadn't expected him to return this early in the morning.

_So **that's**__what time it is._ "I couldn't sleep. Is she still…"

The woman shrugged, one hand motioning over toward her left. "Take a look yourself," she said with a sigh. His head turned to the right, eyes automatically seeing the young girl on the bed, appearing to be sleeping, but Squall knew better - the girl was in a coma. _Like Seifer…_ His eyes narrowed and he spoke to Quistis, not once taking his eyes off of the little coma girl. "Maybe it's time for you to get some sleep," Crossing his arms, his head slowly returned back to look at the blonde haired woman. "I can watch her now." _You need to sleep._

The woman, thankfully, didn't argue, just rose from her seat. "I suppose it would be okay. See you in the morning, Squall," she walked toward the exit--

Someone burst in, the door and person just _barely_ missing Trepe by inches. "Hey!"

Squall put a hand on his face, sighing. "Hello, Laguna… What do you want?"

"Just wanted to let you all know that I'm going on back to Esthar. Someone called me back. It sucks… So much paper work I'll probably have to do…"

"Have a safe flight, Laguna."

"Yes, please be careful in this weather," Quistis looked out one of the windows, the rain outside heavy.

"Ah, don't you worry 'bout me, I'll be _fiiiine_." Turning on his heels, Loire left the room whistling. Soon after, Squall wished Quistis a good night's rest shortly before she, too, turned to leave, again.

It was quiet again, the storm outside being the only thing he heard. Well, that and the even breathing of the coma girl, as well as his. He placed his flashlight on the desk, the beam of light aimed on the body of the coma girl. Taking a seat down in the chair and stretching his legs out, he silently wondered where Rinoa was. _It's almost three-thirty in the morning - where do you **think** she is?_ He silently snapped at himself. But…all night he hadn't seen her - not since he had left with Yuna to check on Nooj, and that had been a long time ago… _She's just **sleeping**, like you should be. You can check on her later._

He yawned, folding his arms across his chest, his eyes slowly closing. The next second passed, and Squall had fallen asleep…

x -X- x

_He stood there, completely surrounded by…nothing, complete emptiness; the only thing he saw was bright light all around him, yet he wasn't the least bit blinded. There was weight against him, and he looked down, seeing her body leaned against his, her head resting against his left shoulder. He noticed the only thing keeping her standing and leaned against him was his left arm, which was wrapped tightly around her waist. _

_"Don't get her killed; I still need her."_

_That voice - where was it coming from? It was the only thing he heard…why was that? Whose voice was it? The name was on the tip of his tongue, and yet, he just could **not** seem to remember that name no matter how hard he tried to!_

_Echoing laughter, causing him to turn his head left and right, up and down, searching for the source of that laughter and voice. The next words that he heard sent shivers up his spine._

_"You **might** want to open your eyes, now! Soon you'll have company!" The cheerfulness in that voice widened his eyes as he opened his mouth._

_"Ulti-" He blinked._

_What a bad thing to do._

_Red was now filled his vision, the sound of this water coming so suddenly to his ears that he nearly jumped out of his skin, and would have had he not been currently **drowning** at the time._

_His head broke through the surface of the water, immediately he tried to fill his lungs full of air that he lacked right now at this moment. But this action only resulted in him coughing, salty and disgusting water rising up in his extremely dry, sore and scratchy throat, this water leaving his mouth only to have him swallow **more** of it._

_Laughter. "Suffer, Leonhart, SUFFER! Things will only get worse from here!" More laughter._

_A wave forced him back underneath the red water, him getting more of a salty taste and something even more distasteful like…like…**blood**._

_"**Don't lose her! Don't lose her, Squall!"** This female's voice was more high-pitched, more young and that of a child. "**Don't let THEM get her!"**_

_Who was "THEM"? Wait - PAINE!_

_He opened his eyes after resurfacing - his arms were empty. Coughing, trying to rid his lungs of that water, he never had a chance to do much as another wave pushed him under. Resurfacing again, he saw glimpses of a large, gray…a large gray… Another wave, this time putting even **more** water into his lungs._

_As he slowly began to sink, his eyes blinked slowly. He could not move, could not swim to the top - why? Why did he feel frozen, unable to do anything but…but drown? Although his vision was starting to darken, he saw something large and gray slowly pass in front of him._

_It looked like…like a…_

_Silence now… His eyes closed, heart beat fading away._

Squall jerked to his left, both him and the chair he sat in falling to the floor. Salty, red liquid was being coughed up as he shut his eyes, the man on all fours, the fallen chair beside him. Someone ran to his side and kneeled down, placing a hand on his back.

"Get Dr. Kadowaki in here immediately!" shouted the man who was, more than likely, one of the SeeDs guarding the Infirmary.

"That will be unnecessary."

After finished up his coughing, he wiped the bloody liquid from his lips as he raised his head to see the pale girl with the blonde hair and blue eyes. Despite the fact that she was no longer in a coma, Leonhart still narrowed his eyes at the girl, feeling anything **_but_** thrilled to have her awake now. "What the fuck is going on?" he asked in a low and deadly tone of voice.

A sigh from the girl. "I have much to explain."

"No shit."


End file.
